The Importance of Humility and Curiosity in Scientific Thinking

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Thinking like a good scientist involves having humility and curiosity to seek new knowledge and challenge one's own thought process.
It's important to look for reasons why you might be wrong and listen to ideas that make you think hard.
Surrounding yourself with people who challenge your thought process helps you get closer to the truth.
Even when faced with disagreement, it's important to have an open mind and avoid reacting impulsively.

How to manage procrastination according to Margaret Atwood, how to work around your first-instinct fallacy, the upsides of imposter syndrome, the best way to avoid falling prey to the Dunning-Kruger effect, how to avoid thinking like a preacher, prosecutor, or politician so you can think like a scientist instead – and that’s just the beginning of the conversation in this episode with psychologist, podcast host, and author Adam Grant.

In the show, we discuss both his new book – Think Again: The Power of Knowing What you Don’t Know – and his TED Original Podcast, WorkLife, in which he interviewed Margaret Atwood, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, to learn how she deals with the constant allure of social media and streaming videos in a future where giving in to procrastination is easier than it has ever been.

In the show, you’ll hear portions of that interview followed by a lengthy interview with Grant about his new book in this all-over-the-place, extensive exploration of how to rethink your own thinking.

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Adam Grant on Twitter

Think Again

How Minds Change

David McRaney’s Twitter