Thank you for another articulate, clear essay on how to cut through the noise, and what happens when we allow ourselves to be carried along by it. I’m so grateful for your clear vision, and that you’re writing.
President Abraham Lincoln said “Right makes might”. I remember that when I’m confronted with people who think their feelings are thought out and rational narratives/morals.
I heard a prominent expert in my field say on a podcast: fake it until you make it. I was shocked. This reactive responding is rampant on college campuses. It's also scary to see this level of arrogance and hubris in journalism and politics as well. It makes me not want to trust anybody.
My obsession with and love of reading has rewarded me in so many ways, expected and unanticipated. This is one of the unexpected benefits. I know how to research claims, what hyperbole is, and what the staker of claims has to gain with using it to influence. I wish we would spend more time encouraging our children to read. Anything, whatever peaks their curiosity. Even comic books. Once introduced to this singular pleasure, many will eventually pick up reasoned non-fiction and literature that requires critical analysis skills.
Yes, I saw this 1st hand myself in the business environment (Banking). To Think versus Talk or vice versa seems to be a defining characteristic of group culture and often this culture is SET and reinforced at the TOP. Without Leadership clearly defining rewards and consequences (and forcing accountability) for specific negative behavior and results, the group tends to skew toward excess risk taking which guarantees lower financial performance over the long term.
What a great post. I’ve been raving about this for years. Slogans that have no substance, the rise of the sheeple who never question a damn thing, the endless spin. It drives me mad. I worked for a company who brought in a new CEO and they changed the culture to exactly this. Identifying actual problems and working out, methodically, how to solve them was replaced with a weird brand of ‘positivity’ for the brain dead. I left, but it seems to only have got worse and you’re right, now it’s everywhere. Thank you so much for this post. I sometimes feel like I’m going mad but now I know I’m now alone!
This is absolutely true, except that it seems to assume this is a new phenomenon. I don't think it is. The performative has always dominated public discourse.
“Once people are rewarded for sounding right instead of being right, there’s no longer any incentive to pursue truth.” You are so right! Loved this piece.
When I was in school I was taught to question everything. Now it’s become difficult to determine what’s valid, and what’s not. Having a search engine at an arms reach doesn’t necessarily mean that the answers you’re looking for are completely accurate, or cover the realm of possibilities. Like a good soup, thoughts need to be simmered for long enough for all of the ingredients to meld.
Excellent thoughts are conveyed here, but whadda ya mean ‘We’, Doctor? I am old, pre- postmodern, and spent a lifetime thinking reading and writing. I crave silence and solitude. I have read about ten thousand books. I am diffident yet I loved standing in front of juries, thinking on my feet. Humans love metaphors which do the thinking for them. Cliches choke our language because they are shortcuts around the arena of thinking, and serve those impoverished of thought and thinking. Nothing has changed in the ratio of thinking to banality in the population - only the ability of bigots dullards and thugs to communicate and form packs on anti-social media platforms. They are the ones who prefer artificial intelligence to the native brand. They are the robots that are operated by algorithms and the devices they carry around in their hands and their heads. They are alienated from thought and thinking. Your ‘We’ is alien to me. They are capable of destroying us, with their infected, underdeveloped brains. Do you think what ‘They’ are doing to law, universities, communities, trust, truth, and all the rest is an accident? No, it is the work of people who hate thinking and those who do it. People who hate thinking are filled with resentment of those who do - the kind of resentment that destroys what makes it feel inferior. They are now Leviathan and will swallow us up. Thank you for your insights.
What if every professional discussion had to run with a checklist like this?
Cognitive Bias Awareness Checklist
1. Clarify Assumptions
Have we explicitly stated our starting assumptions?
Are we treating assumptions as facts without evidence?
2. Seek Diverse Perspectives
Have we heard from a range of voices, especially those who might disagree?
Are we privileging some perspectives due to status, familiarity, or likability?
3. Pause for Reflection
Have we allowed time to think, or are we jumping to conclusions?
Are we reacting emotionally or intuitively rather than deliberatively?
4. Name Potential Biases
Are we falling into any of the following common traps?
Confirmation bias – favouring evidence that supports our view?
Availability heuristic – overemphasising recent or vivid examples?
Anchoring – relying too heavily on initial information?
Groupthink – avoiding dissent to maintain harmony?
Status quo bias – preferring the current state simply because it’s familiar?
5. Use Data Responsibly
Are we interpreting the data objectively?
Are we selectively citing data to support a preferred narrative?
6. Reframe the Question
Could we ask this differently to uncover blind spots?
What would it look like if we assumed the opposite of our current position?
7. Encourage Devil’s Advocacy
Has anyone played the role of challenger or critic?
Are we rewarding challenge or punishing dissent?
8. Test Generalisations
Are we overgeneralising from a small sample?
Are we assuming patterns that may not exist?
9. Acknowledge Uncertainty
Are we pretending to be more certain than the evidence allows?
Have we stated where the limits of our knowledge lie?
10. Review the Process
Have we built in a moment to step back and ask:
Are we thinking clearly — or just thinking comfortably?
That was pretty much how we were taught to write essays at uni if we wanted a 2:1 or a first. Thanks for taking the time to post that.
Was it? Wheat was your degree in?
Politics. Early 90s at York uni UK.
Wow. Wished I’d been taught this then!
I thought that’s how everyone was taught!! Then you go out into the world and, well, this newsletter says it all!
Yes, yes and more yes! We need people who are willing to think. I suspect there are more people who agree with what you are saying but they tend to be quieter in meetings and on social media. I’m determined to figure out ways to get their (our voices) louder as I truly think it’s the way forward. I’ve been thinking about the same thing in this post https://leahmermelstein.substack.com/p/can-we-disagree-and-still-grow-together?r=4uwjft and this post https://leahmermelstein.substack.com/p/behind-the-scenes-of-literacy-change?r=4uwjft. Thank you for sharing and you are not alone in your frustration.
That clarity is where the thinking begins!
Thank you for another articulate, clear essay on how to cut through the noise, and what happens when we allow ourselves to be carried along by it. I’m so grateful for your clear vision, and that you’re writing.
President Abraham Lincoln said “Right makes might”. I remember that when I’m confronted with people who think their feelings are thought out and rational narratives/morals.
I heard a prominent expert in my field say on a podcast: fake it until you make it. I was shocked. This reactive responding is rampant on college campuses. It's also scary to see this level of arrogance and hubris in journalism and politics as well. It makes me not want to trust anybody.
My obsession with and love of reading has rewarded me in so many ways, expected and unanticipated. This is one of the unexpected benefits. I know how to research claims, what hyperbole is, and what the staker of claims has to gain with using it to influence. I wish we would spend more time encouraging our children to read. Anything, whatever peaks their curiosity. Even comic books. Once introduced to this singular pleasure, many will eventually pick up reasoned non-fiction and literature that requires critical analysis skills.
Yes, I saw this 1st hand myself in the business environment (Banking). To Think versus Talk or vice versa seems to be a defining characteristic of group culture and often this culture is SET and reinforced at the TOP. Without Leadership clearly defining rewards and consequences (and forcing accountability) for specific negative behavior and results, the group tends to skew toward excess risk taking which guarantees lower financial performance over the long term.
What a great post. I’ve been raving about this for years. Slogans that have no substance, the rise of the sheeple who never question a damn thing, the endless spin. It drives me mad. I worked for a company who brought in a new CEO and they changed the culture to exactly this. Identifying actual problems and working out, methodically, how to solve them was replaced with a weird brand of ‘positivity’ for the brain dead. I left, but it seems to only have got worse and you’re right, now it’s everywhere. Thank you so much for this post. I sometimes feel like I’m going mad but now I know I’m now alone!
This is absolutely true, except that it seems to assume this is a new phenomenon. I don't think it is. The performative has always dominated public discourse.
“Once people are rewarded for sounding right instead of being right, there’s no longer any incentive to pursue truth.” You are so right! Loved this piece.
When I was in school I was taught to question everything. Now it’s become difficult to determine what’s valid, and what’s not. Having a search engine at an arms reach doesn’t necessarily mean that the answers you’re looking for are completely accurate, or cover the realm of possibilities. Like a good soup, thoughts need to be simmered for long enough for all of the ingredients to meld.
A variation on a carpenter’s rule , “ think twice, talk once”.
Excellent thoughts are conveyed here, but whadda ya mean ‘We’, Doctor? I am old, pre- postmodern, and spent a lifetime thinking reading and writing. I crave silence and solitude. I have read about ten thousand books. I am diffident yet I loved standing in front of juries, thinking on my feet. Humans love metaphors which do the thinking for them. Cliches choke our language because they are shortcuts around the arena of thinking, and serve those impoverished of thought and thinking. Nothing has changed in the ratio of thinking to banality in the population - only the ability of bigots dullards and thugs to communicate and form packs on anti-social media platforms. They are the ones who prefer artificial intelligence to the native brand. They are the robots that are operated by algorithms and the devices they carry around in their hands and their heads. They are alienated from thought and thinking. Your ‘We’ is alien to me. They are capable of destroying us, with their infected, underdeveloped brains. Do you think what ‘They’ are doing to law, universities, communities, trust, truth, and all the rest is an accident? No, it is the work of people who hate thinking and those who do it. People who hate thinking are filled with resentment of those who do - the kind of resentment that destroys what makes it feel inferior. They are now Leviathan and will swallow us up. Thank you for your insights.
Thank you, Dr. Weber. Neil Postman gives an excellent history of your argument in his book: Amusing Ourselves to Death.