Measuring Personal Bias: A Record of Performance

Measuring Personal Bias: A Record of Performance is an experimental film that questions the concept of cognitive bias, which is the tendency to deviate from rational thinking or judgment due to our personal beliefs, preferences, or emotions.

The film shows how cognitive bias affects our decisions and perceptions of reality in various ways, often without us being aware of it. The film also shows how we can measure and change our cognitive bias using different methods and tests, or can we?

The film consists of three parts: the first part introduces the concept and importance of cognitive bias, or does it? The second part shows some examples and consequences of cognitive bias based on anecdotes from my life, or are they? And the third part presents a performance by a person who is using a simple and easy method to measure their cognitive bias using their own body and mind, or are they?

The film challenges the conventional ways of storytelling and perception by using video art and other technologies. The film uses minimalist and realistic techniques, such as static shots and ambient sounds, to create a sense of confusion and discomfort in the viewers. The film also uses performance art to intervene in reality and create new meanings and values from it. Or does it?

  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Documentary, Performance Art, Video Art
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 8 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 26, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Denmark
  • Country of Filming:
    Czech Republic
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K 60fps
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography

Martin Lombok is an experimental filmmaker born in 1969 in the Czech Republic. He lives and works in both the Czech Republic and Denmark. He uses video art and other technologies to create films that challenge the conventional ways of storytelling and perception. His films are minimalist and realistic, often using static shots and ambient sounds to create a sense of confusion and discomfort in the viewers. He is inspired by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Popper, Alan Watts, and other existentialist thinkers. He is interested in exploring concepts such as reality, perception, knowledge, violence, and virtuality.

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Director Statement

Measuring Personal Bias: A Record of Performance is a film that explores the concept of cognitive bias, which is the main factor of our failure in life, or is it? Cognitive bias is the unwanted and unconscious shift of our thinking or judgment from objective reality, or is it? Cognitive bias makes us think that things work differently than they really do, and that our efforts will end up differently than we expect, or do they? If our judgment is clouded by cognitive bias, we can lose money, relationships, health, or even life, or can we?

The film is based on the following quotes, which inspired me to explore the topic of cognitive bias, or did they?

- "Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out." - Václav Havel
- "Every exit is an entrance somewhere else." - Tom Stoppard
- "Reality is only a riddle without an answer." - Allan Watts
- "When you put together things that other people have thrown out, you’re really bringing them to life - a spiritual life that surpasses the life for which they were originally created." - Louise Nevelson

The film consists of three parts: the first part introduces the concept and importance of cognitive bias; the second part shows some examples and consequences of cognitive bias based on anecdotes from my life; and the third part presents a performance by a person who is using a simple and easy method to measure their cognitive bias using their own body and mind.

The film challenges the conventional ways of storytelling and perception by using video art and other technologies. The film uses minimalist and realistic techniques, such as static shots and ambient sounds, to create a sense of confusion and discomfort in the viewers. The film also uses performance art to intervene in reality and create new meanings and values from it.

The goal of the film is to show the importance of correcting cognitive bias for achieving rationality and success in life, or is it? It is also to show that discovering ourselves can be a joyful affair that can be very pleasant, or can it? The film is for the viewers who want to learn more about their own cognitive bias and how they can change it, or do they?

This film is not a straightforward presentation of a method of personal development or a record of performance. It is not a film that has a clear interpretation or meaning. It is a film that creates uncertainty, alienation, understanding that everything can be different. It is a film that lays reality right in front of us - nothing is certain. It is a Film.