Cultivating a Beginners Mind

In a recent article by Aeon editor Christian Jarrett, he talks about the dangers of viewing ourselves as experts in a certain topic and quotes the Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki:

‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.’

He makes the argument that people who are more intellectually humble actually know more, presumably because they are more receptive to new information. And this makes perfect sense. When we think we already know everything, we close our minds to different perspectives and morph into the metaphorical ivory-tower expert, preaching our (one-sided) wisdom from the rooftops to everyone who will listen. So he proposes to cultivate the art of shoshin, the Japanese term for 'beginners' mind', to help us counter the disadvantages of intellectual dogmatic behaviour.

Christian furthermore describes a few strategies to foster our intellectual humility:

• Be aware that we all have an innate confirmation bias. We are naturally inclined to seek out information that supports our current views and beliefs. This perpetuates closed-mindedness and makes us ever surer of our own knowledge.
• Explain a theory or idea to yourself or someone else. Overconfidence in your own knowledge and expertise fuels closed-mindedness. By attempting to explain an idea or argument to someone else, you will get a more realistic sense of what you do and don’t know.
• Argue with yourself. It’s an essential part of human psychology that we are inclined to seek out knowledge and information that is consistent with our current views and beliefs. Try to be more aware of this ‘confirmation bias’, and deliberately counteract it by debating with yourself – look for evidence or arguments that challenge your current perspective.
• Recognise that intelligence is not fixed but accrues through the pursuit of knowledge. If you believe in the malleability of intellect, this is known as having a ‘growth mindset’ (by contrast, if you see people as essentially either smart or ignorant by nature, then you have a ‘fixed mindset’). By periodically reminding yourself that expertise is something that accrues through study and effort, you are more likely to develop a growth mindset, and in turn this will help you to be more open-minded.

And make no mistake this stuff is hard. Because we don’t like discovering (or letting others know) we’re wrong or ignorant because it dents our self-esteem and ego.

But in the words of Christian it is well worth it:

By practising being flexible rather than dogmatic, more humble and less brazen, you will be sensitive to other people’s perspectives and needs, making you a better sister, brother, father, mother, partner and friend. With eyes and mind wide open, it’s so much easier to enjoy the wonders of the world, to grow, to learn and to listen.

And let’s be honest, we don’t like the self-proclaimed experts that are scattered all over the internet anyways.