Racial bias in all of us

It is well known that nearly all people have some racial bias - as can for example be shown with the Implicit Apperception Test. This article (Racial Bias, Even When We Have Good Intentions) lists some of the consequences. It mentions Daniel Kahneman's distinction between quick and slow thinking. Some of the information we process is processed in "quick" (unconscious) thinking. A nice example was that an iPod offered on eBay got 20% more offers when on the picture of the advertisement it was held by a white hand than when it was held by a black hand.

Social programs that work

Another interesting NY Times article: Social programs that work. It is written by a Republican asking his fellow Republicans not t blindly cut social programs but to look at what works. Interesting is a list of programs that were shown to work.