Up & Coming Geoscientists - a sample of our AIG Honours Bursary Recipients
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The Fold Experiment - Geologists Bias<br />
Geologists Are Highly Biased —<br />
How to take Business Advantage <strong>of</strong> this Bias<br />
Jun Cowan<br />
Recently I wrote a post about how a<br />
90% mineral res<strong>our</strong>ce downgrade<br />
could easily occur as a result <strong>of</strong> bias<br />
in the form <strong>of</strong> habitual behavi<strong>our</strong>. People<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten do not fully realise how extreme or<br />
entrenched human bias can be, nor the<br />
implications it has with regard to <strong>our</strong> scientific<br />
and business decisions. The purpose <strong>of</strong> this<br />
post is to illustrate a simple geological bias<br />
that can be demonstrated by anyone. As is<br />
the nature <strong>of</strong> any bias, this particular bias is<br />
virtually unknown in the geological pr<strong>of</strong>ession.<br />
We’ll examine the origin <strong>of</strong> this bias, and then I<br />
will share how I take advantage <strong>of</strong> widespread<br />
bias in my own business as a mining industry<br />
consultant.<br />
My epiphany<br />
Around 1990 when I was studying for my<br />
PhD at the University <strong>of</strong> Toronto, I learned<br />
something that was to change the way I<br />
viewed fellow geologists. It was nothing to<br />
do with my research, but a single sentence<br />
that I overheard at a student-faculty party that<br />
stopped me in my tracks and changed the<br />
way I thought. That sentence?<br />
“Did you know that most geologists will<br />
draw an antiform, as opposed to a synform, if<br />
you ask them to draw a fold?”<br />
The person who made the statement<br />
couldn’t tell me the s<strong>our</strong>ce <strong>of</strong> this claim, but<br />
it was the implication <strong>of</strong> this statement that<br />
really fascinated me. After all, if asked to draw<br />
a fold pr<strong>of</strong>ile, I would instinctively draw an<br />
antiform too.<br />
Ross Logan and Associates<br />
<strong>AIG</strong>, GSA, SEG<br />
Geological Consultants<br />
ABN 87 082254457<br />
• Hands-on project management and evaluation from<br />
grass roots to feasibility<br />
• Target generation, brown and greenfields exploration<br />
• Extensive exposure to Carpentarian Sedex lead-zinc<br />
• Copper and gold experience throughout Australia<br />
• 30 years in the res<strong>our</strong>ce sector, Australia and Argentina<br />
P.O. Box 1277<br />
Coorparoo DC Qld 4151<br />
Phone +61 7 3891 7075<br />
www.users.bigpond.com/rsquared<br />
42<br />
<strong>AIG</strong> NEWS Issue 123 · February 2016
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