You’re Probably Wrong
Have you ever believed something to be true, I mean, really believed it only to have new facts presented to you later that leave you with no doubts that it was never true at all?
Try this thought experiment with me.
Are you right about everything 100 percent of the time? If you are truly honest with yourself you will have to admit that you are wrong, or have been wrong about things in the past. So, what percentage of the time do you think you are right, 85%, 93%, or maybe an unfathomable 99.5%?
No matter what percentage you settled on, it’s a pretty safe bet to say it wasn’t 100%. No one, at least no one that I know of, is ever right all of the time.
Okay. So, we can agree that you are at least wrong in some of your views. Now, let’s divide those view into things you know you’re right about and things you are wrong about. I’ll wait…
You can’t do it. But, neither can I. I don’t know what I am wrong about if I still hold it as a belief that I think is true. And, just like me, you don’t know which of your beliefs and thoughts are inherently wrong. If you knew the view was false you would no longer hold it as a belief, at least I hope you wouldn’t.
I think it is safe to say, so far, that we have established two fundamental points that will be helpful from here on out:
- You have some views that are wrong.
- You don’t know which of your views are wrong.
Knowing this, now, you must always be willing to consider that you may be wrong about any given topic. It doesn’t matter what your age, race, religious upbringing, ethnic background. It makes no difference if you are gay, straight, liberal, or conservative. Not even if you are Baptist, Methodist, Atheist, Buddhist, or any other ist or ism. It doesn’t matter what schools you attended or what your IQ is. The fact is, you could still be wrong about any of your views.
The concept is simple. Living it out daily is a bit more difficult. It is hard for us to accept that we may be, and probably are, wrong about many things. We like to be right. Because of this, we love to cling to any source that seems to agree with us and blindly reject anything that doesn’t. We search out information that agrees with us and anything that doesn’t we write off as propaganda, “fake news”, or a conspiracy. That’s what is known as Confirmation Bias, or the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.
You can train yourself to overcome confirmation bias, first by admitting that you could be wrong. Next, make yourself actually listen to and consider the contrary evidence. Don’t be so quick to hit that share button on a Facebook post, or RT that tweet posted by your favorite celebrity, talking head, or politician. It will actually take a little effort on your part. I think that’s why most people don’t do it. Do some research on the opposing view from credible sources.
Sometimes the truth is a hard pill to swallow, especially when everything else we have been given has been sugar-coated. But, in the end, I don’t think anyone in their right mind would want to hold on to untrue or false beliefs.
I had someone tell me one time that I was too skeptical.
I said, “I doubt that!”