The book evolves around the concepts of two mindsets: scout mindset and soldier mindset, the former sees things as they are not as you would like them to be, while the soldier mindset means we see the things we want to see.
Another concept introduced by the author is that our judgment isn’t limited by knowledge nearly as much as it’s limited by attitude.
The author reviews the famous Dreyfus case as an example of the phenomenon in cognitive science and social psychology known as motivated reasoning in which emotional biases lead to justifications or decisions based on their desirability rather than an accurate reflection of the evidence.
And since we now live more and more in a scout’s world, Galef advice is to choose soldier mindset less often and scout mindset more often than our instincts tell us.
Another interesting author’s conclusion is that intelligence and knowledge are just tools and that we can use those tools to see the world clearly or to defend a particular viewpoint, depending on your motivation.
The good news, Galef says, is that there are tools -the double standard test, the outsider test, the conformity test, the selective skeptic test, and the status quo bias test- that helps us develop a scout mindset as instead of a soldier mindset.
The author says that (examining how confident you are) certainty is simple, certainty is comfortable, and certainty makes us feel smart and competent and that we must resist that temptation and think in shades of gray instead of black and white.
Regarding scout morale, Galef affirms that rather than being motivated by the promise of guaranteed success, scouts are motivated by the knowledge that they’re making a smart bet.
A beautiful concept of the author is that scouts don’t admit mistakes, instead they talk about updating, so mistakes don’t imply failure.
And when it comes to disagreements, the author said that knowing that you have common intellectual ground with someone makes you more receptive to their arguments early on.
Be careful with identities, warns the author, because we can get stuck in our ideas and that may lead us to errors, so the advice is to hold your identity lightly.
Finally, the author lists some ideas to develop a scout mindset
Interesting and enlightening read.
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Popular Highlights in this book
In scout mindset, there’s no such thing as a “threat” to your beliefs. If you find out you were wrong about something, great—you’ve improved your map, and that can only help you.Highlighted by 1,269 Kindle readers- Being in scout mindset means wanting your “map”—your perception of yourself and the world—to be as accurate as possible.Highlighted by 1,171 Kindle readers
- If directionally motivated reasoning is like being a soldier fighting off threatening evidence, accuracy motivated reasoning is like being a scout forming a map of the strategic landscape.Highlighted by 849 Kindle readers
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highly recommend
thoughtfully written, well researched, and difficult to put down (i had to switch from reading it before bed to lunch breaks). cant wait to read what comes next! as a fan of 'rationally speaking', this book was a must for me - but my partner who isn't a listener was also sucked in right away so it definitely appeals to a wider audience.
Top reviews from other countries
- TobiReviewed in Germany on February 21, 2022
Very well writen and eye opening book
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