4 Undisputable Signs You’re a High-Level Thinker
Better thinking is the sexiest skill you can develop in this day and age.
The power of technology is growing and automation is going to make jobs at the bottom rungs of the ladder vanish. Here are some stats.
- Automation is predicted to displace 20 million manufacturing jobs by 2030.
- Automation has the potential to eliminate 73 million US jobs by 2030, which would equate to a staggering 46% of the current jobs.
- 37% of Americans are worried about automation displacing them from their jobs.
In place of those jobs, new jobs will be created at the top rungs of the ladder. These jobs will essentially be focused on creative thinking and better decision-making. These jobs will require you to have better cognition.
The future is uncertain. And it’s scary. However, high-level thinkers will have no trouble navigating their way in an ever-changing world. They’ll not just survive. They’ll thrive. Here are some indisputable signs that you’re such a person.
You don’t adopt beliefs in a package
Beliefs can be adopted in two ways.
- They can be adopted in a package.
- Or they can be adopted one by one.
Most people adopt beliefs in a package. This means they label themselves — for example, American, Christian, Libertarian, Etc., strongly identify with such a label and then embrace all the beliefs associated with that label.
However, there are two major problems with such an approach:
Problem # 1: Since there are so many beliefs and ideologies associated with any label, there’s no way for a person to actually think through each belief. This means they have many beliefs just because they’re told to have those beliefs. They have not found such beliefs to be true for themselves.
Problem # 2: Identifying with a label prohibits them from testing the beliefs that come with those labels. For instance, if you strongly identify yourself as a Christian, you cannot actually question the beliefs a Christian is supposed to have. It’s because authority frowns upon religious skepticism, and, to question a Christian belief when you identify as a Christian goes against your sense of self— and that’s uncomfortable.
However, trying to prove something wrong is the only way to actually find out if something is true. Falsifiability and skepticism are necessary to know what’s true for yourself.
Think of it like this — to see if a car can pass a safety test, cars have to undergo crash tests. They don’t test a car's safety by hitting it with a teddy bear. They test the car’s safety level by actually crashing the car. Just like that, to really know if a belief is worth believing in, you have to test it by trying to prove it wrong. When you’re not able to prove something wrong, that’s when you believe it to be true.
For example, one of the Stoic virtues is courage — and an example of courage in Stoicism is hunting. Now, if you proudly call yourself a Stoic, you too will think that hunting is courageous. However, when you truly test the premise for yourself — you’ll realize that hunting might have been courageous in the past, but it’s an act of cowardice today.
In the earlier days, a hunter had to go inside the jungle and put himself at risk to hunt. However, today, they have super-accurate guns which can shoot animals from miles away. All they have to do is wait for them to come in their scope — and then they’ll hunt them.
That’s courage? I don’t think so. That’s cowardice.
When you adopt beliefs in a package, you’ve only tested a few of them — if at all. And you haven’t thought through the others. That’s not what a high-level thinker does. High-level thinker tests each belief for themselves.
I used to identify as a libertarian, but then I would find myself defending positions I hadn’t really thought through because they’re a part of the libertarian canon. If all your beliefs line up into neat little bundles, you should be highly suspicious.
That’s what Naval Ravikant said. And I’m sure you agree that he’s one of the greatest thinkers of all time.
If you refuse to adopt a belief without testing it for yourself — no matter how much any particular community or authority tries to force it on you — it’s an undisputable sign you’re a high-level thinker.
The only label you should have is your name.
My name is Akshad. I’m an Indian, but I don’t strongly identify as an Indian. On paper, my religion is Jain, and while I like most principles of Jainism, I don’t identify as Jain.
I’m Akshad. That’s all I am. I’m me. And you should be you. Shed the labels. Be yourself.
You take some time to decide
Your mind is loaded with heuristics.
Heuristics are nothing but mental shortcuts. They’re ways for your mind to consider minimal info as fast as possible so that it’s able to think faster. For instance, when you see a person with their hood up in a dark alley — you start walking at a faster pace.
In such a case, your brain has probably used a heuristic to evaluate the situation instead of a full thought-out deliberation process to find out whether you’re in danger or not.
We psychologically develop heuristics so that we don’t have to think a lot about every little decision we have to make in our lives.
Heuristics are really helpful because they save us a lot of time. However, heuristics overstep their role in our decision-making and lead us to take rushed decisions even when we should take our time.
For instance, we have all been there when we committed to something when asked for a favor, but later regret that decision. Our inner need to please people often makes us say yes, and we later realize that we should have said no instead.
For example, earlier, when people used to ask me for favors, I said yes right away, and regretted it later. But these days, I don’t. Last night, a colleague asked me if I’ll cover his duty. I told him that I’ll let him know in a while. I thought about it for a few minutes — and realized that covering his duty will prevent me from writing my daily article.
And hence, I said no.
I could have said yes too. I’m not saying you must always say no to commitments. I’m only saying you should take your time while making certain decisions — especially when it’s a request for you to give your time.
When you’re forced to make a decision in a rush, your mind has had a chance to consider only the least information. And hence, the decision might be flawed. But when you give yourself time — you give your time to consider more information — more pros and cons — which allows you to make a better decision.
It sounds like a simple thing, but trust me, most people make decisions without thinking them through. If you aren’t one of them, it’s a sign that you’re a high-level thinker.
You focus on the basics and the underlying principles
All actions have roots in the form of principle beliefs. But most people simply memorize and carry the actions without understanding the basic principles.
Let’s discuss an example.
I come from a Jain family. And the most prominent principle in the Jain community is that of Ahimsa — that is the avoidance of violence toward other living beings. To that end, Jains don’t eat meat.
To simplify,
- Belief: Ahimsa — or avoidance of violence.
- Action: Not eating meat.
However, Jains do eat dairy. And that’s where things get interesting.
You see, when the Jain philosophy emerged, dairy consumption did not occur through an industry. Dairy production and consumption occurred on household and small community levels. So, people used to care for their cows, goats, and other domestic animals — and then consumed their milk and related products without harming the animals.
And that’s why dairy consumption in those days did not mean violence in any way and hence was okay for Jains.
But today, the scenario is different. Dairy production occurs on an industry level. And it’s harmful and cruel to the animals.
- Female animals are artificially inseminated multiple times in their lifetime— more than their body can healthily take — so that the industry can keep up with the demands of the overflowing human population.
- The offspring — for whom the milk was actually intended — don’t get any. Because it’s all reserved for humans. The baby animals get formula milk instead.
- Since animals are now owned by industry and not an individual, they’re not cared for because no particular individual has an attachment to them. They’re cared for only enough and only for as long as they are useful.
- Other than that, undeniable and horrific instances of cruelty occur in the dairy industry on a daily basis.
Simply put, dairy consumption might not have been harmful to animals earlier. But it sure is now. That’s why people go from being meat-eaters to being vegan directly.
When I told a family member that if they believe in Ahimsa so strongly, the right action would be to quit dairy as well. But they shook it off — and said that that does not make sense.
Sure enough. They’re focussing on superficial actions. But fail to understand the underlying basics.
Also, I’m not taking a position. I don’t eat meat, but I do eat dairy. I’m simply explaining how some people fail to think the way they’re supposed to.
Another example would be the case for stoics we’ve already discussed before.
Hunting might have been an act of courage in the olden days because one had to go into the jungle and put himself at risk. But today, shooting animals from a distance with super-accurate guns while being in a completely safe environment is not courageous, it’s cowardice.
As time changes, the actions you’re supposed to follow change too. But underlying principles stand the test of time. They’re timeless. That’s why, if you understand and focus on the basics and underlying principles, you’re a high-level thinker.
You’re focussed on the high-ROI actions
To achieve any goal, you can take a million actions in that direction.
For instance, to be a good digital writer, you can —
- Learn to write better titles.
- Improve your vocabulary.
- Learn to communicate your ideas clearly.
- Learn to write introductions that hook your readers.
- And learn to write memorable conclusions.
While all will help you be a better writer, not all have the same ROI. Learning to write better titles is a very high ROI because that improves your chances of your articles being clicked. Improving your vocabulary is very low ROI because nobody cares about your word choice — they care about your ideas.
Writing a good intro is a higher ROI than learning to write a good conclusion because a good intro can ensure that your reader will read the complete article. Without a good intro, your reader might not even read the conclusion.
Average thinkers try to do everything, but end up achieving not much. It’s like they’re in a swimming pool kicking their hands and feet but not moving.
On the other hand, high-level thinkers focus 99% of their time on high-ROI actions. And hence, they’re able to improve even with relatively lesser effort.
If you’re someone who looks for the smartest way to go — if you look for the highest ROI actions towards your goals — it’s a sign that you’re a high-level thinker.
Summing up
You’ll thrive in this ever-changing work if you teach yourself how to be a high-level thinker. Here are 4 signs that you are such a person.
- You don’t lazily adopt beliefs in a package. You test and adopt them one by one.
- You take your time making high stake decisions — if you can afford it.
- You understand the basics and the underlying principles of everything you’re doing.
- You spend a lot of your time doing high-ROI actions.
Want to become a High-Level Thinker? Click here to download my free eBook where I share 5 tips to level up your cognitive abilities.
