Open & Shut
Recently in one of my social media feeds, I saw The Atlantic promoting a recent article by Boris Kachka titled The Danger of a Too-Open Mind. The premise of the title captured me. The more common observation is when someone is too closed-minded. To flip this and ask the question “What does it mean to be too open-minded?” Is a great thought experiment. I have not yet read the article, but intend to. In the meantime, I will engage with the thought experiment here.
Closed-mindedness is the more thoroughly documented end of the spectrum. It includes the person who refuses to sample new cuisine, the person who limits their information diet to just a few narrow media outlets, and the patient who rejects their doctor’s counsel because it conflicts with something they read online. On the extremely open-minded end of the spectrum, we find people who believe that the Earth is flat, that 9/11 was an inside job, and that vaccines don’t work.
So what is the optimal stance for a civic-minded person to maintain in the face of our human tendency to rationalize things or suffer confirmation bias, when the digital world is flooded with misinformation explicitly designed to confuse us? How do we know when it is appropriate to change our minds?
Finding the right balance between being too closed-minded and too open-minded involves developing a thoughtful approach to evaluating new ideas. Here are some strategies:
Practice evidence-based thinking: Be willing to consider new perspectives, but require reasonable proof before fully accepting them.
Develop healthy skepticism: Question claims while remaining genuinely open to being convinced. This differs from cynicism (assuming everything is false) and gullibility (accepting everything as true).
Recognize your biases: We all have cognitive biases that influence our thinking. Being aware of these tendencies helps you compensate for them when evaluating information.
Seek diverse perspectives: Intentionally expose yourself to viewpoints that differ from your own, particularly from credible sources with different backgrounds or expertise.
Apply proportional confidence: Match your level of certainty to the quantity and quality of available evidence.
Establish evaluation criteria: Before considering a new idea or approach, determine what would need to be true for it to be valid.
Practice intellectual humility: Acknowledge the limits of your knowledge and expertise. Be willing to say "I don't know" and to change your mind when warranted.
Consider practical consequences: Evaluate both the potential benefits and risks of accepting new ideas, especially before making significant changes based on them.
Give ideas appropriate time: Some concepts need sufficient testing before you can fairly evaluate them, while others may deserve prompt rejection if they lack basic plausibility.
Focus on learning, not winning: Approach disagreements as opportunities to deepen understanding rather than competitions to be won.
Our goal shouldn't be perfect neutrality but rather a mindful approach that's receptive to valuable new ideas while maintaining critical standards for what you ultimately accept.
Our minds should be neither fully open, nor fully closed. They should always be a ajar - narrowed enough to spare us the time and energy required to examine the most outlandish things, but open enough to let through real breakthroughs in our understanding of what is true about the world.
Sunday Supper
These Bolognese Lasagna Rosettes look amazing, though very labor-intensive. This salad would be a good complement to the pasta dish. And Cereal Milk Panna Cotta for a fantastic finish.
Sunday Music
This Sunday morning, please enjoy this Cozy Pancakes Brunch Bar Jazz mix as you figure out just how far you need to open (or close) your mind for optimal discernment of reality. This performance by Aretha Franklin of the American classic (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman at the 2015 celebration of Carole King’s contribution to the arts at the Kennedy Center gets me every time. Enjoy!
If you know anyone who might like this essay, please share it with them.
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,