Surprise: Mastering This One Important Skill Can Help You Make Better Decisions
Why keeping a surprise journal can make you more open-minded.
Almost a decade ago, watching TV was still a thing for me. Just like a dog is taken in by the sight of a juicy biscuit, I was mesmerized by the magic box. One day, I remember flipping through the channels when an image caught my eye. A Japanese samurai riding on a horse.
My eyes lit up. Ever since I was a kid running around the house practicing my “wax on, wax off”, I was fascinated by Asian culture. Of course I wanted to watch this documentary.
Relishing the opportunity to confirm my knowledge on how cool medieval Japan was, I strapped myself in for a ride. There was talk of battles, politics, and geography, but then the scene cut into an interview with one smarty-pants historian.
That’s when the mental bomb went off.
The ninjas were not a thing. At first I thought I had misunderstood. I pulled my ear closer to the screen, but listening to the guy talk shattered my world. While there were Iga and Koga clans of shinobis, the popular image of black clad ninjas throwing spiky star weapons and performing superhuman feats was most likely a later mythification.
