A while back I pulled a post. It had to do with my wanting to be caught being wrong by my coworkers. I catch myself being wrong all the time, so I very much know my own fallibility. But, people take lack of confidence as lack of ability. Which means to get things done, one has to appear 100% confident even when 51%.

Kathryn Schulz discusses our feelings of rightness while being wrong. After watching this, I realized that I may have odd values. I enjoy discovering my being wrong about something and figuring out why I went astray. The path to knowing leads through not knowing. Finding out where I am wrong opens up new possibilities to learn something I should have already known.

I’m not worried about these concerns Schulz describes as conflicts with others not knowing (Ignorance), not making the same connections (Idiocy), or not making the decision I’d have made (Evil). I worry about people devaluing self-correction as much as I do. We all err and my feeling is I err more than most. I want a world where we strive to be the best we can intellectually be. I try to surround myself with people who seem more intelligent and with deep wells of knowledge outside areas I am competent. I have much to learn.

My favorite reason for having a smartphone is quickly accessing information. I will assert something in a conversation and while this is fresh on my mind have a doubt that I was correct. A concrete example. Last night, a friend told me her grandfather from Mexico was German. I asked if his parents migrated during WWI or WWII. So when I looked a bit later, I learned the German migrations to Mexico started in the mid-19th Century and continued through WWII. Every situation is a learning opportunity.

 (TED)

Most of us will do anything to avoid being wrong. But what if we’re wrong about that? “Wrongologist” Kathryn Schulz makes a compelling case for not just admitting but embracing our fallibility.