willingness to discover "new truths"

One of the many “blessings” I am thankful for is my children. Among their many individual and collective talents, what I appreciate the most is their avid curiosity. I don’t think I’ve ever seen faster thumbs on mobile phones as they rip through news and social media sites in their insatiable pursuit of information. Although I’m nearly 100% confident that our tastes in “sites” probably differ, we do have a trait in common as we sift through the unending input at our fingertips – we have a healthy respect for verification and nearly always explore multiple sources before acceptance of whatever this new status quo embodies. And while I won’t claim that my wife and I are solely responsible for their “trust, but verify” mentality, I do hope that our example as open-minded professionals helped nurture this important trait – which brings us to this week’s Inspirational Quote and message. In my mind, it is both simple and profound, and represents a critical skill that typically becomes honed through exposure and experience of this amazing world around us:

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” - Arthur Schopenhauer

When I first came across this quote, I immediately pictured Copernicus’ heliocentric model that was met with unbridled opposition from the traditional Earth-centered teachings of the 16th Century Roman Catholic Church. Or, we can reach back even further to 500 B.C. when Pythagoras first mused (and was later validated by Aristotle several centuries later) that the Earth was indeed round and not flat as first feared and suspected. There are even more recent, albeit less monumental, examples of once held “truths” which are now false: like we only use 10% of brain; that there are sections of our tongue’s taste buds that capture different tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, etc.); or that we have only 5 senses (when in actuality it’s closer to 20!).

In today’s day and age, it seems unlikely that we’ll experience another Copernican-level truth - at least until we discover that we’re truly not alone in this massive universe J. So how do we, as literate and open-minded purveyors of information, learn and grow from this week’s message? I think first, it’s a question of awareness of what we consider a “fact” or a “truth.” I’m not suggesting that we all become curious skeptics of everything and anything that challenges our current mental models, because I fully recognize that these numerous “truths” in our lives serve an important purpose – namely in time management, focus of effort, prioritization, and a level of personal grounding. We would definitely struggle in our myriad of small and large daily tasks if we had to consistently question every accepted truth. We should however be aware that our truths represent a combination of input that we’ve read, heard, experienced, or been taught – all of which reflect a rather broad range of accuracy.

Second, I think there is an acknowledgment that our personal mental models are constantly evolving and adapting as we become exposed to more information. This acknowledgment is crucial because it assists in reminding us not to become too anchored to past experiences in predicting future occurrences – because new contexts and developing situations always get a vote! We all have to determine what our personal threshold for new information entails. This represents a careful juggling act. While there is always a danger of analysis paralysis (i.e., continually waiting for new information before acting), we must also balance our inherent tendencies to uncritically accept new evidence that confirms our original position (i.e., confirmation bias) and discount or actively refute information that challenges our expectations (i.e., disconfirmation bias).

I can certainly appreciate the spirit of Schopenhauer’s proposition. The first two stages are understandable, especially when a new “truth” attempts to shatter an existing norm. It’s entirely natural to be doubtful and apprehensive in this type of situation. I imagine that level of ridicule and opposition is directly proportional to how much the proposed change will affect the invalidation of an affected party’s belief system and/or significantly alter the normal and comfortable representation of how someone makes sense of the world around them.

I’d also argue that there is a suspiciously giant chasm between Schopenhauer’s second and third stage. Fortunately, this largely unexplained and magical “black box,” in which people move from violent opposition to self-evident acceptance, reflects an opportunity for growth and development. Whether you are the deliverer of a new truth (where persistence and strength of both humble conviction and unbiased information sharing will win the day) or its recipient (where practicing this newfound awareness and acknowledgment will assist in maintaining a receptive and curious mind to possibilities), an open-minded approach is critical in helping us limit the extremes of our “always” and “nevers.” What new truth are you willing to discover and share today?