# How cognitive biases skew MX test reports, and why named molecules aren't sold **URL:** \ **Category:** MX Test Results\ **Created:** [October 27, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/how-cognitive-biases-skew-mx-test-reports-and-why-named-molecules-arent-sold/63095 "2014-10-27T01:04:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Brian\_F](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/brian_f/32/1573_2.png) [@Brian\_F](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Brian_F)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/how-cognitive-biases-skew-mx-test-reports-and-why-named-molecules-arent-sold/63095/1 "2014-10-27T01:04:32Z")
Why, thank you! I _am_ biased, in fact. And so are you. And you. And _you_. We all have biases. Biases toward certain people, places, things, beliefs. Or… Biases toward what certain [pheromone](https://a314.com/shop/) mixes do because other people said so? Hmm! But are we _aware_ of these biases? How can my bias make me stupid? How can we combat bias-blindness stupidity? Knowing your biases is the first step. Let’s take a look: [![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/pheromonetalk/original/2X/0/0b5f8395af372788abcbb789fdd0d5c322a6049b.jpeg "Social Psychology: Cognitive Biases: Fundamental Attribution Error, Actor-Observer Effect, and...") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO2pBE8WI5g) This has been a public service announcement from yours truly, Brian F, team lead at Androtics Research. Helping YOU dispel stupid biases and become a better person/researcher/ass-kicker. ---
**Author:** ![jett](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/jett/32/438_2.png) [@jett](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/jett)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/how-cognitive-biases-skew-mx-test-reports-and-why-named-molecules-arent-sold/63095/2 "2014-10-28T02:54:55Z")
thanks for picking a sexy teacher. i will now pull my gstring out from between my legs and pay attention. next sexy poindexter i run into out there at some coffee bean cafe in la, i will say “is that a self fulfilling prophecy or are you just happy to see me?” ew… i just realized… if i was a dude saying this … that would be the creepiest thing ever. ---
**Author:** ![monesmadedoit](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/monesmadedoit/32/325_2.png) [@monesmadedoit](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/monesmadedoit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 11:25am UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/how-cognitive-biases-skew-mx-test-reports-and-why-named-molecules-arent-sold/63095/3 "2014-10-28T11:25:18Z")
So selling alpha, but not beta, androsterone, would be a cognitive bias…such protocol bias being eradicated by simultaneous putative coding. [Cognitive Biases - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/cognitive-biases-2014-6?op=1) ---
**Author:** ![Brian\_F](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/brian_f/32/1573_2.png) [@Brian\_F](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Brian_F)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/how-cognitive-biases-skew-mx-test-reports-and-why-named-molecules-arent-sold/63095/4 "2014-10-28T19:20:09Z")
> [@jett](#): > > thanks for picking a sexy teacher. i will now pull my gstring out from between my legs and pay attention. You’re welcome? > [@monesmadedoit](#): > > So selling alpha, but not beta, androsterone, would be a cognitive bias…such protocol bias being eradicated by simultaneous putative coding. > > [Cognitive Biases - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/cognitive-biases-2014-6?op=1) Great article, very informative. 58 biases! Thanks for posting. That’s cognitive bias gold. You’re spot on why we don’t sell named molecules to the public. We stock everything in the research papers so far. Our sales of named molecules are reserved for bonafides. Total geeks/tinkerers with a chemistry background are welcome too, in my view. There’s a place for knowing specific rotation, empirical formula, or how many saturated bonds there are. Or where. That’s all good, biased – choice-supported/information biased – data. It’s something to go on. On the other hand, if we made it easy to buy named molecules from us, most of the market for that wouldn’t be the 1 or 2% of thoughtful tinkerers who just wants to figure out what xx will do for them. The likely scenario is a vendor or vendor’s pet will attempt to “reverse engineer” a compound to then mislead/misinform the public and capitalize on “their discovery”. So far, I’ve seen “reverse engineering” by Wear and Declare: a well repped member of Forum XYZ will proclaim, “I have worn P167 and I declare it to be 4-Androsten-7a, 17a-Dimethyl-17b-ol-3-one. Friends, this is the secret juice and we now have it in our Backyard [Pheromone Store](https://a314.com/shop/). And Fuck AD!” There is a handful of trusted parties we will sell named molecules to, and that’s about that. If readers want to know the details or pick up named molecules, you can email me, [brian@androtics.com](mailto:brian@androtics.com) and sign our stewardship agreement. Researchers, yes, because presumably they identify and factor in controls for their biases. Though in reality researchers are just as bias-blind as any other human can be. At least sometimes they mention their biases in papers. But I digress. That’s not what this thread is about. In the coming years we will move our testing to a different paradigm. Different filters and controls. I can’t talk about it publicly more than, I think the best is yet to come. Thanks again for posting this great article. It’s all there, folks! Read up and be amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Dragon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/pheromonetalk.com/miss_dragon/32/866_2.png) [@Miss\_Dragon](https://pheromonetalk.com/u/Miss_Dragon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/how-cognitive-biases-skew-mx-test-reports-and-why-named-molecules-arent-sold/63095/5 "2014-11-08T14:02:12Z")
I really enjoyed that video. I tend to be cautious of fundamental attribution error anyway, and never knew that it was a thing. Back when I was a food server, we would, of course, get dumped on by the occasional moody customer. One time in particular, a coworker and I were both treated particularly badly by a lady. Now, my coworker was reputably the happy, positive, bubbly girl who taught me a thing or two about shooting rays of sunshine out of your ass. But on this particular day, she got really mad about how that customer had treated us. She called her a bitch (behind her back, of course), and ranted about how horrible people like that can sleep at night. I just shrugged and said, “She’s probably having a worse day than us.” My coworker got a sadistic grin on her face, and said something to the effect of, “yeah, karma’s a bitch.” I was a bit taken aback, because that was not what I meant by what I had said. What I meant was, the lady was probably a decent person normally. But maybe, moments before encountering us, she had just found out some horrible news, like her husband is cheating on her. Or maybe her house is being foreclosed on, or something. We probably just saw the worst side of her, based on situations that we are unaware of. Of course, when I get cut off in traffic, I am less likely to lead with a charitable attitude, but in general, I try to treat others with the sense of understanding and grace that I would like for them to have toward me. The self-fulfilling prophecy bias is one that I tend to fall victim to, in regards to other people. Too often, I’ve found myself listening raptly to some reputation-tarnishing bit of opinion about someone I haven’t met, or don’t know too well yet. Or, God forbid, I might not restrain myself from sharing a juicy and shocking story about someone. I’m not proud of this. A friend of mine has a pretty good mental device he shared with me for helping yourself be aware of when this is happening, and guarding yourself against it. He calls it “poisoning the well”. Imagine yourself as an old fashioned water well. And imagine that Sally is on her way to come get a bucket of water from your well. You’ve never met Sally before, and you know nothing about her. But before she gets there, Joe drops by with a bottle of poison. That poison is his words, and they say things like, “That Sally, she’s horrible. You’ll just hate her, she’s just the worst. You wouldn’t believe the kind of person she is!” He dumps his poison into your waters, and now Sally, whom you’ve never met, has nothing but poisoned water waiting for her when she arrives. I try to keep this in mind, and not let my well be poisoned against someone who hasn’t even had the fair chance to make their own first impression, and deserves a clean slate when meeting new people. This is especially crucial in the workplace, because you have to live with these people every day for the foreseeable future. Sometimes, in the moment, I’ve had to straight out tell myself, “Nope, I’m not going to let my well be poisoned against her/him,” or “I’m not going to poison that person’s well”.