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21 " Of course, all maps are imperfect simplifications of reality, as a scout well knows. Striving for an accurate map means being aware of the limits of your understanding, keeping track of the regions of your map that are especially sketchy or possibly wrong. And it means always being open to changing your mind in response to new information. In scout mindset, there’s no such thing as a “threat” to your beliefs. "
― Julia Galef , The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
22 " If you find out you were wrong about something, great—you’ve improved your map, and that can only help you. "
23 " Itry to abide by the rule that when you advocate changing something, you should make sure you understand why it is the way it is in the first place. "
24 " scout mindset: the motivation to see things as they are, not as you wish they were. Scout mindset is what allows you to recognize when you are wrong, to seek out your blind spots, to test your assumptions and change course. It’s what prompts you to honestly ask yourself questions like “Was I at fault in that argument?” or “Is this risk worth it?” or “How would I react if someone from the other political party did the same thing?” As the late physicist Richard Feynman once said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. "
25 " Everything happens for the best. People get what’s coming to them. The darker the night, the brighter the stars. "
26 " PERSUASION: CONVINCING OURSELVES SO WE CAN CONVINCE OTHERS "
27 " BELONGING: FITTING IN TO YOUR SOCIAL GROUPS "
28 " In some religious communities, losing your faith can mean losing your marriage, family, and entire social support system along with it. "
29 " Over the next few pages, we’ll explore five different types of thought experiments: the double standard test, the outsider test, the conformity test, the selective skeptic test, and the status quo bias test. "
30 " THE DOUBLE STANDARD TEST "
31 " THE OUTSIDER TEST "
32 " THE CONFORMITY TEST "
33 " Fitting in isn’t only about conforming to the group consensus. It also means demonstrating your loyalty to the group by rejecting any evidence that threatens its figurative honor. "
34 " THE SELECTIVE SKEPTIC TEST "
35 " THE STATUS QUO BIAS TEST "
36 " When you think about all of the things we use soldier mindset for, it becomes obvious why the frequently proposed fixes for it are futile. Such fixes typically involve words like “teaching” or “training,” as in: We need to teach students about cognitive biases. We need to train people in critical thinking. We need to educate people in reason and logic. "
37 " At the end of the day, we're a bunch of apes whose brains were optimized for defending ourselves and our tribes, not for doing unbiased evaluations of scientific evidence. So why get angry at humanity for not being great at something we didn't evolve to be great at? Wouldn't it make more sense to appreciate the ways in which we do transcend our genetic legacy? "
38 " Why Truth Is More Valuable Than We Realize "
39 " IF YOU’RE NOT CHANGING YOUR MIND, YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG "
40 " You’re doing yourself a disservice if you throw yourself into the pursuit of a goal without asking: “Is this goal worth pursuing, compared to other things I could do instead? "