Keep an open mind

Confirmation bias is a subtle but major force in our life.

We tend to seek out information that confirms what we already believe we know. We tend to like & surround ourselves with people who believe what we believe.

If our goal is insight, we need to avoid falling for this.

Charles Darwin forced himself to read, write, and discuss every argument made against his theories & ideas. He knew that contradicting ideas & facts were easier to slip by his radar.

When your goal is the enrichment of your mental latticework of models, every relevant piece of information, both confirming & dis-confirming, becomes attractive. It opens up your mind to new connections & discussion between ideas. It’s exciting to see how one new piece of information can change the whole perspective on a certain problem. Plus, having both the pros & cons of an idea makes for a lot more interesting content than just one-sided content & seemingly fitting quotes.

Here’s the thing —

If insight becomes a threat to your success, you are doing something wrong.

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