I Dissent

Think Tank #46

We’re so scared of being wrong.

Every single one of us. The social consequence to venturing out and having a real, genuine thought on your own and getting it wrong is so stiff that it’s easier to just not do it at all.

Follow the crowd, so that at least, if what they’re doing turns out to be wrong, the blame’s not on you.

How did this happen?

Well, for a lot of people the initial trauma probably happened sometime around sixth grade, when you bought a pair of sneakers that you thought looked cool only to find out from your friends that they weren’t the right brand and were therefore entirely worthless.

In adult life, it’s a lot more subtle. Not wanting to draw too much attention to yourself at work, or to seem argumentative when everyone else is just hanging out.

Not wanting to voice a potentially controversial opinion for fear of it being held against you.

Even if it’s true.

Even if you change your mind!

How crazy is that? Even if you change your mind, you can still be ostracized for a belief that you once held in the past. Even if you apologize!

Opinions change. And if they don’t, this doesn’t signify some kind of perfect intelligence, but instead a gross lack of intellectual curiosity.

Perhaps intellectual curiosity is the offender, then. It is not enough to hold the opinion that you think is right. You must be incapable of dissent.

How boring?