Think Again

I am not particularly fond of self-help books however, I did read this one and found some of the thoughts rather engaging. The way we think affects not just our ability to succeed in a dynamic, fast-changing world; it also affects how we make sense of things around us. This book by Adam Grant is about improving your mental agility and the ability to rethink.Some of the worthwhile ideas are shared below.

Fallacies & Biases

• First-instinct fallacy Tendency to believe your first thought, idea, or answer is closer to the truth than revised thoughts, ideas, and answers.
• Desirability bias Our tendency to see what we want to see.
• Confirmation bias Our tendency to seek out information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs.
• Overview effect The ability of experiences like seeing earth from space or traveling the world to open or minds to how connected everyone and everything our planet is.
• Binary bias Our tendency to seek clarity and closure by simplifying complex ideas and situations into two categories.

Four Mindsets

When we think, talk, and interact with others, we often fall into one of four mindsets.

• Preacher - When our values or beliefs are at stake. We give sermons to defend and promote our ideas.
• Prosecutor - When seeing flaws in other people’s thinking. We use arguments to prove them wrong & win.
• Politician - When we want to win people over. We focus on winning approval at the expense of all else.
• Scientist - When we accept how little we know. We form hypotheses, run experiments, and consistently rethink our understanding of the world and others based on new knowledge.

Four Kinds of People

Certain meek, ignorant arrogant, debilitating doubtful and confident humble. Certain meeks are obsessively insecure about themselves. They are so certain that they are incompetent that they never even bother to try. Ignorant arrogant are so confident in themselves and their values that they hold no regard for constructive criticism. Debilitating doubtful want to listen to everyone but cannot get their mind around something useful because of the dilemma of having too many choices. Confident humbles doubt their beliefs, but on rational grounds. They are open to new ideas and hence, adaptability. They know that they have to face challenges to grow their confidence. And above all, they understand that self-confidence is achieved by accepting challenges. People who are thrilled by knowing that they are not always right are more likely to be highly successful. So, accept your flaws whenever you can. Move on from your ignorant biases by telling yourself that you don’t know enough. Repeat the process until you find wisdom through your experiences.

What’s the Purpose of Learning?

“The purpose of learning isn’t to affirm our beliefs; it’s to evolve our beliefs.”

Instead of holding on deeply to the feeling of being right, we’re better served in thinking like scientists and recognizing how little we know. When we do this, we favour doubt over certainty, curiosity over closure, and humility over pride. In doing so, we stay open to the world of possibility and a lifelong journey of evolving our beliefs as new experiences, data, and modalities of thinking shape our minds.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

We’re most likely to be overconfident about our abilities in the domains in which we lack competence.

Why Ideas Survive ?

“When ideas survive, it’s not because they’re true – it’s because they’re interesting. What makes an idea interesting is that it challenges our weakly held opinions.”

Two Types of Attachment

Being attached to ideas or beliefs prevents us from rethinking them. We can change this by learning how to detach in two ways:

• Detaching your present from your past - This involves a willingness to let go of beliefs that you’ve held previously, including beliefs about who you and what that means for your present life. In letting go, you can begin to reshape your identity, without losing the narrative that ties your life together.
• Detaching your opinions from your identity - This involves letting go of the tendency to define yourself by your beliefs, ideas, and ideologies. If these things are linked too closely with your identity, you’ll be less open to new information and evidence that may challenge your deeply held beliefs.

Start with the Steel Man, not the Straw Man

The majority of people begin rebuttals with a straw man in order to point out flaws in the weakest version of the other person’s case. But a more effective approach for building rapport is to begin with the steel man, the strongest version of the other person’s case. In considering the steel man, you’re more likely to find the compelling parts of what the other person has to say and to better relate to his or her perspective.

Hierarchy of Disagreement

Created by Paul Graham, this pyramid shows the different levels of disagreement. If you consistently find yourself using the tactics near the bottom of the hierarchy, it may be time to rethink your approach.

Handling Arguments

Instead of entering fight or flight mode if an argument gets heated, you can always pause and ask, “What evidence would change your mind?” If the person responds with “nothing,” then you can comfortably end the discussion knowing that there is nothing you can do. In other cases, you may learn something about what the person may be amenable to and find a way to move forward more productively.

Prejudice and Stereotypes

When we allow ourselves to develop prejudices and stereotypes, we harden. In identifying with our group and thinking of the other side as the enemy, we often fall into the trap of doing “whatever it takes to elevate our own group and undermine our rivals – even if it means doing harm or doing wrong.” To help people explore the origins of their prejudice or stereotypes, you can ask them counterfactual questions. Counterfactual questions have the power to help people break free from their existing beliefs and to reconsider how they formed their positions in the first place.

Giving Up

“When we choose not to engage with people because of their stereotypes or prejudice, we give up on opening their minds.”

If you shut the door to other people, you may never bring about the change you’re seeking.

Motivational Interviewing

A type of conversation in which we lead people to think about their ideas and problems through a series of questions. It’s based on the premise that we can rarely convince people to change, but we can help them find their own motivation to change through questions. Motivational interviewing involves three techniques:-

• Asking open-ended questions
• Engaging in reflective listening
• Affirming the person’s desire and ability to change

Motivational interviews helps us avoid putting too much pressure on people to change. Sometimes people shut down to change because they feel that someone else is pressuring them or controlling their decision.

Talking about Complex Issues

When it comes to discussing complex issues, we often fall victim binary bias, our tendency to seek clarity and closure by simplifying complex ideas and situations into two categories. By framing an issue as only having two sides, we force people to talk one side or the other, despite a continuum of complexity.

While this type of framing can help rile up people on your side, it does very little for helping other rethink an issue. We can do better by “complexifying,” which involves highlighting the range of perspectives on a given topic.

School vs the Real World

“Achieving excellence in school often requires mastering old ways of thinking. Building an influential career demands new ways of thinking.”

Creating a Culture of Learning

An organisation with a culture of learning requires at least two things – psychological safety and accountability.

• Psychological safety is about creating an environment of trust, respect, and openness where people can raise concerns and ideas without the fear of being reprimanded.
• Accountability is about process accountability – ensuring that in the process of designing experiments or creating something, people have gone through a process that allows for a good chance of making the best decision. This cannot be based solely on outcomes or results, because outcomes are difficult to determine and sometimes the result of luck.