Dilbert creator and author Scott Adams shares cognitive tools and tricks we can use to think better, expand our perspective, and avoid slumping into “loserthink.”
Here are some of the things you'll learn in this interview:
1. "People are not rational, but I accept that as the proper canvas which I’m working with to paint something. If you try to paint anything useful, assuming that people are rational, you’re going to build a system. You’re going to try to manage to that. It just doesn’t work because people aren’t, but if you go the other way and say, “What if I assume that everybody’s just irrational?” What would you do differently? And often, what you would do differently is far more effective. Assuming people are irrational most of the time is a very clear way to see the world."
2. "People who are writing non-fiction believe they’re telling you what is objectively true in the world, but we don’t have that capability. We all have this illusion that the version of the world we’re seeing is the one, and that if anybody’s got a different version, they must be wrong. It’s sort of the most common illusion that we all have."
3. "When I say somebody is using loserthink, I don’t mean that they’re a loser. It’s not about the person. It is about the experience which the person has been subjected to. People tend to come at topics with just the filter that they just happen to have because of the life that they led. What I recommend is that you expose yourself at least to the general ideas of how other people think."
For more detailed show notes go to fs.blog/scott-adams/
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Farnam Street: fs.blog/the-knowledge-project/
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Farnam Street puts together a weekly newsletter that I think you’ll love. It's called Brain Food and it comes out every Sunday. Our team scours the internet for the most mind-expanding books, articles, and resources so you can spend less time searching, and more time learning. Discover what you’re missing at fs.blog/newsletter/
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