Stereotypes are a primitive form of decision heuristics. We must use heuristics when dealing with the enormous volume of information that we are required to pro

Stereotypes are a primitive form of decision heuristics. We must use heuristics when dealing with the enormous volume of information that we are required to process on a day to day basis, or we would never get anything done as we evaluate every micro-decision at an atomistic level. As far as missing out on great opportunities by using heuristics, it happens all the time, and not just with race/sex/age stereotypes. It happens with food, it happens with color, it happens with sounds and temperatures and fabrics and pets. We require heuristics based on generalizations and abstractions to even function in the world. There is no easy solution to this, but the saving grace of a semi-free society is that if your particular heuristic excludes a great opportunity, it's very likely someone else's heuristic does not.