Being opposed is good for thinking. So says a coach of ceos. You can watch the TED talk below.
I agree.
I was in a meeting recently where understanding of a problem and subsequent solutions were sought. Honestly, in this conversation, I felt neither understood nor encouraged. However, I know those in this conversation have the greater good in mind. The value of additional/opposing opinions is that they make our thinking sharper.
In a feature on NPR, the story of a scientist who, in the 50s, sought the reason for childhood cancers in the UK. She discovered the reason through research, but her argument was sharpened by being opposed.
That’s what I am thankful to have experienced in that meeting. Being opposed sharpened my thinking and shook me from what is called “willful ignorance” or maybe, as I might call it, “rut thinking.”
I was telling a pastor friend about this. (This pastor is FREAKING out about the condition and direction he sees in the USA church.) He wondered if this could be an answer to what he sees as a decline of the USA church.
Could engaging with, say, post moderns (or whomever), about the church, or more importantly, about the biblical Jesus not just open conversations with these friends, but also sharpen our own thinking about this most important of topics? That, I think, is his question.
I think he is on to something. I recall a conversation a couple of months ago with a guy where we were talking about life and it became clear that a big part of where we differed a bit was our views of God. As we talked, our thinking was sharpened.
So, my question is, with whom are you collaborating, who provides you with opposition which helps you sharpen your thinking?
Links:
Margaret Heffernan: The dangers of “willful blindness” #TED : http://on.ted.com/dja4
NPR TED hour on making mistakes… http://m.npr.org/story/174030515
(I’m on my phone in a car so no imbeds today gang, sorry)
