Your objectivity is not objective

I checked, objectively speaking, the term "objective" comes from Japanese.

The Japanese "objective" corresponds to the English "Objective." Objective has multiple layers of meaning:

- Philosophical sense: existing independently of human consciousness (objective reality)

- Epistemological sense: free from personal bias, based on facts (objective evaluation, objective data)

- Everyday sense: fair, real, not speculative

Investment is a game of cognition. The "objective" in investment naturally aligns with the epistemological sense. However, many people understand "objective" from the everyday sense. The problem with this is: "objective" is just a word, a noble goal of pursuing truthfulness.

Therefore, most people's "objectivity" can only remain verbal. No one would think they are not objective.

The epistemological sense is about "how humans perceive the world." In this dimension, objectivity is a complex methodology.

This methodology includes at least three questions.

1. How to perceive the objective world

The answer is to use scientific methodology. Scientific methodology is probabilistic thinking based on facts, hypotheses, and logic, evolving over time.

As for how to obtain facts, how to abstract hypotheses, how to apply logic, and how to infer probabilities, this requires a lot of effort. The deeper you dig, the more you enjoy studying each word. Knowing these words, you still need to connect them.

For example, how to apply the two methods of logic—induction and deduction? What is the relationship between verification, falsification, and probability?

2. How to eliminate the influence of the subject

"Perception" is, after all, an act of a person as the subject. The subject's influence includes innate predispositions, biases in thinking, limitations in ability, and fluctuations in emotional state. Each of these requires self-awareness.

When you observe the world as the subject, you are like a mirror. You need to ensure this mirror is smooth, stable, and has a comprehensive view.

More complex is: how do you know if this mirror is ideal?

You need to separate yourself, practicing the good interaction between the observer self and the thinker self. The thinker self is your mirror.

3. How to correct deviations

The above two points are still a single self's perception of the world. Ancient China had the story of the blind men and the elephant. No matter how you perceive, you still cannot be objective, because this dimension is binocular and two-dimensional.

You need to introduce a third-party perspective. This is why excellent decision-makers often have senior partners, like Buffett and Munger.

Beyond the spatial third party, you also need to establish a feedback mechanism between perception and results over time. If every time you shoot an arrow, it lands to the right of the bullseye, your cognitive system itself may have issues.

In summary, objectivity is not a verbal good wish but a complex methodology.

Achieving objectivity requires: scientific methodology, subject control exercises, and correction mechanisms (third-party perspective and feedback mechanisms).