--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Diallo, a West African immigrant in New…" description: "\"“Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. Four white officers questioned him, and when the unarmed Diallo start..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-y_3127502.jpg" --- # Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a… ![“Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. Four white officers questioned him, and when the unarmed Diallo started to pull out his wallet, they decided it was a gun and fired forty-one shots. The underlying neurobiology concerns “event-related potentials”…” quote by Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-y_3127502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-y_3127502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-y_3127502.jpg) > ““Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. Four white officers questioned him, and when the unarmed Diallo started to pull out his wallet, they decided it was a gun and fired forty-one shots. The underlying neurobiology concerns “event-related potentials” (ERPs), which are stimulus-induced changes in electrical activity of the brain (as assessed by EEG—electroencephalography). Threatening faces produce a distinctive change (called the P200 component) in the ERP waveform in under two hundred milliseconds. Among white subjects, viewing someone black evokes a stronger P200 waveform than viewing someone white, regardless of whether the person is armed. Then, a few milliseconds later, a second, inhibitory waveform (the N200 component) appears, originating from the frontal cortex—“Let’s think a sec about what we’re seeing before we shoot.” Viewing a black individual evokes less of an N200 waveform than does seeing someone white. The greater the P200/N200 ratio (i.e., the greater the ratio of I’m-feeling-threatened to Hold-on-a-sec), the greater the likelihood of shooting an unarmed black individual.”” [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rapid brain responses to perceived threat differ by race, influencing split‑second decisions like use. **In simple terms:** Biases affect quick judgments. Key Takeaway Recognize and pause before reacting to bias. Themes bias neuroscience racial perception decision making ethics Mood reflective critical Type educational analytical When to use this quote - law enforcement training - courtroom deliberations - medical triage - everyday social interactions Key Concepts event‑related potentials P200 N200 cognitive control Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to interrupt automatic bias? - How can institutions train for slower, more deliberate responses? A Different Perspective Neural patterns are not destiny; conscious control can mitigate bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [The frontal cortex is an incredibly interesting part of the brain - ours is proportionately bigger and/or more complex than in any other species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-frontal-cortex-is-an-incredibly-interesting-part-of-the-brain/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“how acute stress strengthens connectivity between the frontal cortex and motoric areas, while weakening frontal-hippocampal connections; the result is decision making that is habitual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivity-between-the-frontal-cortex/) [Robert M. 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All embedded in the fabric of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/thus-for-our-purposes-genes-aren-t-about-inevitability-instead-they/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“If we accept that there will always be sides, it’s a nontrivial to-do list item to always be on the side of angels. Distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/if-we-accept-that-there-will-always-be-sides-it-s-a-nontrivial-to-do/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“In other words, the more genomically complex the organism, the larger the percentage of the genome devoted to gene regulation by the environment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-other-words-the-more-genomically-complex-the-organism-the-larger/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“The subject of one experiment is a rat that receives mild electric shocks (roughly equivalent to the static shock you might get from scuffing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-subject-of-one-experiment-is-a-rat-that-receives-mild-electric/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“No brain region is an island, and the formation of circuits connecting far-flung brain regions is crucial—how else can the frontal cortex use its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/no-brain-region-is-an-island-and-the-formation-of-circuits-connecting/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. 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Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“some people always get more than their share of equality than others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/some-people-always-get-more-than-their-share-of-equality-than-others/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [It's probably even the case that if you stoked up some Buddhist monks with tons of testosterone, they'd become wildly competitive as to who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-probably-even-the-case-that-if-you-stoked-up-some-buddhist-monks/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Explore all 280 Robert M. Sapolsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) ## More Cortex quotes > [Visual cortex is fundamentally a machine whose job is to generate a model of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/visual-cortex-is-fundamentally-a-machine-whose-job-is-to-generate-a/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-conflicting-options-coke-or/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [Spatial working memory is impaired by stress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-davidson/spatial-working-memory-is-impaired-by-stress/) [Richard Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-davidson/) > [“The amygdala can accomplish its quick response because of the special properties of another nucleus within it: the central nucleus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-m-pittman/the-amygdala-can-accomplish-its-quick-response-because-of-the-special/) [Catherine M. 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Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-m-pittman/) > [“Powerful support for an amygdaloid role in fear processing comes from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In PTSD sufferers the amygdala is overreactive to mildly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/powerful-support-for-an-amygdaloid-role-in-fear-processing-comes-from/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Logically, when the amygdala wants to mobilize a behavior—say, fleeing—it talks to the frontal cortex, seeking its executive approval. But if sufficiently aroused, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/logically-when-the-amygdala-wants-to-mobilize-a-behavior-say-fleeing/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Joseph LeDoux at New York University has shown how the BLA learns fear.fn14,20 Expose a rat to an innate trigger of fear—a shock. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/joseph-ledoux-at-new-york-university-has-shown-how-the-bla-learns/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“amygdalae filter through the information to determine its threat-level significance and mobilizes a response.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/amygdalae-filter-through-the-information-to-determine-its-threat/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“The quick reaction that results from the amygdala pathway is typically called the fight-or-flight response.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-m-pittman/the-quick-reaction-that-results-from-the-amygdala-pathway-is/) [Catherine M. Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-m-pittman/) Browse all 79 Cortex quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. 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