Holding Opposing Ideas
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Holding Opposing Ideas
What if the ability to hold two contradicting ideas in equal regard was actually the real truth?
Ben duPont • Non-Obvious Thinking: How to See What Others Miss
The greatest challenge, of course, is the perennial challenge of the human mind — how to integrate seemingly contradictory needs or ideas in such a way that they coexist harmoniously, perhaps even magnify each other, rather than cancel each other out.
Maria Popova • Your Brain on Grief, Your Heart on Healing
Closed-minded people have trouble holding two thoughts simultaneously in their minds.
Ray Dalio • Principles: Life and Work
A mindset that can be paranoid and optimistic at the same time is hard to maintain, because seeing things as black or white takes less effort than accepting nuance.
Morgan Housel • The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness
If you wish to get more intellectually daring, here is another step you can take. Read or listen to some of the more radical takes on race, whatever might be outside your comfort zone. Recognize that you don’t have to agree with them. But try to spell out in your own mind why somebody might possibly believe and promote those claims. If necessary, w
... See moreTyler Cowen • Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World
In the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald,3 “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” Builders of greatness are comfortable with paradox. They don’t oppress themselves with what we call the “Tyranny of the OR,” which pushes people to believe tha
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