Have you ever wondered why examination papers are checked after removing the sheet containing your details? Probably because, since humans are born with a plethora of biases, and perhaps institutions recognise they cannot overcome them, they attempt to conceal them instead. Thus, anonymity becomes a means to prevent the inevitable bias that accompanies recognition.

The quote attributed to Hazrat Ali (RA) suggests that one should not focus on who is saying it, but rather what is being said. Yet today, a culture has emerged where one needs a background or a brand name to get published or have one's ideas heard. It is often not important what is written, but rather who has written it.

Of Gust de Backer's motley of 151 biases, more than 15, such as identity and recognition bias and authority bias, signify the tendency to focus on who rather than what in the content. It is not always the argument itself that commands attention, but the identity behind it. Media and academia are both complicit in perpetuating........

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