What does it really mean to think?

Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am."

But what does it mean to say “I think”?

Thinking is taking in information to update our beliefs.

Thinking is absorbing evidence to alter our model of reality.

Thinking is recognizing that we are wrong to change our minds.

In short, thinking is the process of using information to update our current beliefs — or changing our minds.

But changing our mind is notoriously difficult ... and rare. Why is that?

Most of the time when we claim to think, what we are doing is something completely different. Instead of using information to update our beliefs, we do the exact opposite. We filter out information that would make us question our beliefs and instead use only supporting information to strengthen our existing beliefs.

That behavior seems backward — so why do we do that?

We do that because our identity is tied to our beliefs. And if our identity is tied to our beliefs then we are unlikely to embrace any thinking that would lead us to question our identity.

That is precisely why we have sabotaged our thinking to support our beliefs to maintain our identity and why changing minds — ours or anyone else’s for that matter — is really difficult. For to change minds means to change identity.

Yet, it is extremely useful to change our minds as the data changes.

So, how do we solve this conundrum?

The first step is to understand we adopted our beliefs without thinking about them. A child is born free of beliefs and as she grows up she develops them through exposure to the people and culture around her. Some of these beliefs are drilled explicitly into her and others she picks up implicitly. Neither of those are her chosen beliefs. They are chosen for her by those around her.

The second step is to understand that our beliefs are how we make sense of the world and if we did not pick our beliefs then we should question our interpretation of our experiences. For eg, if I believe that I control my fate then when I fail I naturally identify what I could have done to be better and take ownership of it. On the other hand, if I believe in destiny then I am likely to look for external factors for my failure. So the reason I think I failed is because of my beliefs but unless I explicitly picked one belief over the other I should not trust my reasons for my failure.

The third step is to realize that if we did not explicitly pick our beliefs and so cannot trust our interpretation of our experience then why should our identity be based on those beliefs? This realization is the beginning. We are now free to question our beliefs without questioning our identity. We might argue we can now rebuild our identity and truly call it that — our identity.

The fourth and last step is instead of calling them beliefs view them as our current best theories. This reframing has the automatic effect of dissociation of our identity from our theory. Because it is universally known that there are only two kinds of theories — those that have been proven wrong, and those that will be proven wrong.

For those who say why should I question my beliefs if I am happy with them — you shouldn't. If your beliefs work for you then this is not for you.

But for the rest of us, having current best theories is far more logical than it might seem at first blush for two reasons.

One, it is clear that our worldview is incomplete. That is there are lots of things we don’t know.

Two, our worldview is also incorrect. That is there are things we think are true that aren’t. What’s more, we hold these incorrect views thinking that they are correct.

How do I know that?

Most of our knowledge has been acquired through osmosis by observation and conditioning from those around us. Observing those people suggests that a lot of the time they don’t know what they are doing. So it is reasonable to assume that there are errors in what we have learned from them.

So it should be clear that when we learn something new we must rethink our worldview through this updated lens. Having a current working theory allows us to do that, even when the worldview is incomplete and inaccurate.

In summary, understand:

• To think is to change our current incorrect beliefs
• Most of our beliefs were acquired without thinking
• Our beliefs are the lens through which we interpret our experience
• If we didn’t pick our beliefs, we should question the interpretations of our experiences
• If we didn’t pick our beliefs and we are questioning our interpretations of our experiences, how can our identities be tied to our beliefs?
• Instead, think of beliefs as working theories so we can update them without questioning our identities.

Take this approach to thinking and you will enjoy the upside of being confident that you are continually getting closer to reality without having to worry about the risks of being overconfident because you think you have it all figured out.

P.S. Descartes got it backward … he should have said, “I am, therefore I think”

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