#CCLKOW On Good Confusion
Greetings CCLKOW readers. Earlier in the summer we brought you the fine wisdom of our Fighting Sailor on the ends, ways, and means of the advanced staff course here in the UK. Although specific to the British system, it is readable by any student of PME for providing a system of thinking through the priorities for the academic endeavour. This piece, on the other hand, offers a thought from the other side of the lectern, on what I see as the cornerstone of academic success. — JSR
Pardon the delay. I returned to London on Monday, and as usual with my September arrivals, it has been a bit more chaotic than I planned for…calling to mind the old adage, I am at a loss to identify the enemy. But that is not at all a bad place from which to begin a discussion on ‘good confusion.’ As the professional military education (PME) academy rumbles to full speed in the UK, US, and elsewhere, I would like to discuss briefly what I consider to be the most important piece of advice I could offer a student, the foundation of my approach to critical thinking.* There is much ado about the concept, less so about how to get there. This is a short discourse on how to get there.
One of the ways in which I introduce myself to students is to explain that part of my job in the classroom is to sow good confusion. I enjoy the looks of horror they give me. Confusion sounds like a terrible place to be. Particularly in an academic setting, where the elimination of confusion is generally meant to be the point. Well, folks, welcome to the Thunderdome. You are entering a world of ‘no right answers.’ Yes, there are key facts and information to master. But beyond that you can only achieve a correct answer, which demands a high quality of analysis and argumentation. That in turn relies upon rigorous questions and diligent research. A student trapped by certainty will of necessity and by definition fail to do this as well as the colleague who has more questions than answers, who reposes comfortably in a state of good confusion.
So, what is ‘good confusion’? It is the abandonment of whatever you think you know or believe to the most ruthless challenges, whether it be from your instructors, peers, or self. There is an argument to demolish any opinion held at the level of belief, so even where your thinking is sound you still should be haunted by the humility that it is but one view among many. Question your own experiences and anecdotes rather than assuming they are representative. In return you will be rewarded with the sort of curiosity that drives the accumulation of real wisdom.
More so than most in academia, the armed forces schoolhouse must guard against intellectual hubris. The world is a chaotic place and rote answers learned in class or elsewhere will not suffice. Rather, success will be for the officer who has mastered critical thinking, who can embrace the confusion and harness it to drive a thoughtful intellectual process.
My portion of the advice giving is over. So, in addition to any comments or queries on the ‘good confusion’ concept, my questions for discussion are:
What advice would you offer other students of the military academy?
What questions do you have of the impending school year?
*The second most important piece of advice would be on your writing: use outlines and edit drafts multiple times. There is no magic, only work.
