Part 3
Then there is the other side - once selection bias has slipped you a false view of the world, human nature plays another trick. Humans are very persistent in always believing they are the exception to the rule, they are the ones that aren't average, etc. A common speaker's trick is to ask, when speaking to a group with a common profession, "How many of you consider yourself above average at your job? Raise your hand if so." Lo and behold, 70-80% of most rooms raise their hands. Obviously 80% of them can't be that, and they laugh at that realization, and many still don't come out realizing, "Maybe I'm one of the average ones."