The Reefcebo Effect?

[flampton]

What I want to point out for a little extra fun is that everyone in this thread and all the threads are revealing a little confirmation bias by responding/liking the posts that agrees with their worldview and ignoring/flaming the posts they don't.

What's interesting about this on a forum wide level is that means the most popular people are believed the most even when their information is not valid. And not only that, people pointing out this wrong think are usually drummed out of the thread by the followers.

Just a little more to think about when you're deciding whom you agree with

Oh and I think BRS coming up with a video series was brilliant marketing. They can keep all the attention only on products they carry. And made everyone believe that they're your friend. Now with that being said I have bought quite a bit of stuff from BRS. Maybe I need to rethink that choice.

 

[jda]

I still ask myself once in awhile, hey did you really need that rockscape design? lol

I know that I am posting too much, so sorry, but I have found that the most healthy and stress-free fish just like rock piled on top of each other so that they can just disappear and relax if they need to. The arches and caves and the stuff that humans build is not for the underwater inhabitants, but for the humans. We matter too... if the tank is not interesting to us, then nobody would have a tank, so this is not a criticism, just an observation.

Are your phosphate levels low? You appear smart from what I have read before, so I know that you know that the higher water-levels of phosphate won't help that microfauna that you are looking for. ...so make sure and get it down if the rock that you got was full of phosphate. Remember that even if you water level is so-so, the concentration near the aragonite will be higher, especially in the pores, which is where you are needing all of that fauna to live and breed. In a new/bare tank, Lanthanum Chloride is effective and fast.

I am well aware that I have biases... some are very intentional and some catch me from time to time and cause me to think. I believe that some of this is human nature on some level since I have never met anybody without any. Reflection on my own biases have offered me some of the most enlightening thought that I have ever had.

 

[schuby]

One of my favorite expressions is "Words are cheap.", meaning that actions are more significant and relevant to understanding a person and their motives. In other words, I don't care what you say: I only care what you do.

Some of us only believe people on this site that consistently portray sound logic and reason. They rarely make baseless statements. When they present a new theory, they are given more credit and belief than others (who just post a lot). No one should be believed absolutely. Each of us need to consider what others say and do, deciding if it makes sense to us. Some might call this critical thinking.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Oh and I think BRS coming up with a video series was brilliant marketing. They can keep all the attention only on products they carry. And made everyone believe that they're your friend. Now with that being said I have bought quite a bit of stuff from BRS. Maybe I need to rethink that choice.

In fear of being construed as someone with an ax to grind towards BRS (I don't) I'll say this anyway, to your original post, I think what makes BRS videos so enticing is they often offer the negative with the positive, to suggest to the viewer that their testimony is unbiased, and to the average viewer that's exactly how its recieved. But when you actually weigh the negatives they're usually something that doesn't detract anyone from buying the product ("oh, it requires metric fasteners and plumbing? That's no big deal"). I'll admit it's clever.

I am well aware that I have biases... some are very intentional and some catch me from time to time and cause me to think. I believe that some of this is human nature on some level since I have never met anybody without any. Reflection on my own biases have offered me some of the most enlightening thought that I have ever had.

Well said...

 

[flampton]

Yes I'm definitely not going to go on the BRS warpath. They provide a very decent service. And I'll likely still order from them. I just hope people become aware that the videos are not just to help but to market.

To put it bluntly...of all the companies that I have to purchase from within a year they are nowhere close to the bottom on ethics.

 

[Nano sapiens]

What I want to point out for a little extra fun is that everyone in this thread and all the threads are revealing a little confirmation bias by responding/liking the posts that agrees with their worldview and ignoring/flaming the posts they don't.

What's interesting about this on a forum wide level is that means the most popular people are believed the most even when their information is not valid. And not only that, people pointing out this wrong think are usually drummed out of the thread by the followers.

Or people might just not agree with at least some of a post, regardless of who posted, and therefore not give a 'Like'.

Oh and I think BRS coming up with a video series was brilliant marketing. They can keep all the attention only on products they carry. And made everyone believe that they're your friend. Now with that being said I have bought quite a bit of stuff from BRS. Maybe I need to rethink that choice.

Yes, they are good at this, aren't they?

As social primates, we are hard-wired to respond positively to a smiling face, a warm welcoming gesture, a good natured joke and various other pleasurable stimuli. If doesn't matter if it's genuine or not, for even if we suspect it's not 'real' subconsciously we will still try and fool ourselves into believing it's true.

 

[ichthyogeek]

I somewhat disagree with this. Plenty of people disagree with properly-done science... flat earthers, anti vaxxers and many more. ...that properly done science gets called hoaxes and overblown liberal/conservative media (whatever helps their argument). Properly done scientists get called nuts and whack jobs. We have virus deniers right now... 200k people are not really dead.

Also, honey over vinegar works for favors and friendships, but when leading people and making dynamic things better, those that need niceness are mostly never going to be all that they can be. The best kindness that anybody can pay a truly dynamic individual is by giving them a hard truth that they do not see or otherwise would not get - the manner in how it is delivered does not matter to the exceptional. This could come in the form of a punch in the mouth (figurative or literal - for those of you who are old enough to remember the lessons that a fight could give you), a loss in a sporting or other event, a passing by comment or assessment or even a long lecture. There are many more. The best sports coaches or leaders in any field do not care about being nice, rather being honest and direct. Kinda like the first post in this thread, the people who will take your hard truth and do some self-examining will not care if it was nice or not. The people who need this to be nice are a waste of your words. I have led a lot of people and made a lot of young men and women into better versions and I can tell you that three things are needed - an ability to explain and communicate, honesty and directness... niceness does not matter at all. I guess that another part would be to let people go who do want to argue with well-done science... you cannot reach everybody.

Y’know, for a split second, I actually forgot about antivaxxers and science deniers...Although those examples are also examples of confirmation bias. (“Oh, my child is hurt by vaccines, this completely unscientific paper says they hurt my child. No more vaccines!”)

I think we’ll have to disagree on the method of execution when it comes to niceness mattering. I can imagine that it will work for some individuals, but others (like me! Hey! More bias!) do need a more gentle hand to guide them.

 

[Engrene4]

cant read... to many words...

 

[jda]

I am not saying that you cannot be nice, just that to those who are the ones that you are truly going to reach and help, that it is not a prerequisite. Of course, this does not mean that being a jerk is good either - not to be confused with somebody thinking that you are a jerk because you said something that they do not like or agree with. In some ways, I really don't know what being nice really means, but taking time to help somebody else is probably a good start.

I would like to go all "Eternal Sunshine" on all of the science deniers - does this service exist? I am truly sorry that I brought it up and wish that you could still be forgetting them.

 

[flampton]

Or people might just not agree with at least some of a post, regardless of who posted, and therefore not give a 'Like'.

I had thought I said that by saying they ignore the post. It was not my intent to not include this. Yes you don't have to like everything. In fact sometimes it carries power as others will look at who liked the post and who didn't like the post.

Edit: In a way it is a form of social voting. I saw a scifi show that satirized how this power is being given to society to wield over the individual. Black Mirror no idea what episode anymore.

 

[BackToTheReef]

There’s also the ability to do experiments. Head out to the nearest Petco at the next $/gallon sale, and pick up a few 10 gallons. Next time there’s a product, you just set them up with as little variance as possible and run a control tank (no product added, or a placebo like an equivalent of RODI water) next to the experimental tank.

I can’t wait to move out so I can start doing experiments....

I have one in mind!

 

[ichthyogeek]

I have one in mind!

Tell me! Unless it’s the freshwater coral experiment.......