Confirmation bias, the tendency to see what we expect and want to see, is one of the most common human mental shortcuts that distort how we process the world. Opposite Me is a thinking device to step outside oneself to gain perspective: what would the exact opposite of me do in this situation? The goal is not to rigidly do the opposite but rather to break patterns, surface blind spots, and reset your mindset.
- Dodge an Issue → Chose Radical Candor
- Hide Vulnerability → Drop Mask, Choose Authenticity
- Image Projection → Transparency
- Play it Safe → Take a Social Risk
Opposite Me is as much identity based as aught else, not just asking “what’s the opposite argument?” rather more asking: “Who would I have to be to see this differently?” It is NOT self-doubt – it’s about widening the lens of what you’re capable of seeing, in effect ‘sampling the data space your defaults normally ignore’.
Closing Quotes:
“Strong opinions, weakly held.” – Jeff Bezos, Amazon
“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.” – John Stuart Mills, 1806-1873
“Think again: the hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it’s time to revise your thinking.” – Adam Grant, ‘Think Again’
“The more viewpoints you consider, the better your chances of finding the truth.” – Philip Tetlock, b. 1954, ‘Superforecasting’
“What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.” – Warren Edward Buffett, b. 1930
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier
Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
