Preacher, Prosecutor, Politician and Scientist

Here are my notes on chapter 1 of “Think Again” by Adam Grant.

• We play a lot of roles in our lives. The author describes the preacher, prosecutor and politician roles. He compares them to scientist role
• We need to spend time rethinking as much if not more than thinking
• We favor feeling right over being right
• Form a habit of developing 2nd opinions
• Scientists are expected to doubt what they know, be curious about what they don’t know, update their view based on data.
• Confirmation bias and Desirability bias: seeing what we expect to see vs what we want to see. Both contort our intelligence into a weapon against the truth
• Lead with questions not answers or solutions
• Dare to disagree with our own argument
• Be actively open minded
• Search for reasons why we might be wrong
• Shift in the face of sharper logic and stronger data
• PURPOSE OF LEARNING ISN’T TO AFFIRM OUR BELIEFS;IT’S TO EVOLVE OUR BELIEFS
• Rethinking cycle: Humility>Doubt>Curiosity>Discovery
• When people are resistant to change- it reinforces what will stay the same
• Good judgement depends on having the skill and the will to open our minds.