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Remember, it is not an argument; it is an open exploration of what's true.

Remember that you're looking for the best answer, not simply the best answer that you can come up with yourself. The answer doesn't have to be in your head; you can look outside yourself. If you're truly looking at things objectively, you must recognize that the probability of you always having the best answer is small and that, even if you have it, you can't be confident that you do before others test you. So it is invaluable to know what you don't know.

Remember that every story has another side. Wisdom is the ability to see both sides and weigh them appropriately.

radical open-mindedness, which is motivated by the genuine worry that one might not be seeing one's choices optimally. It is the ability to effectively explore different points of view and different possibilities without letting your ego or your blind spots get in your way.

Open-minded people seek to learn by asking questions; they realize how little they know in relation to what there is to know and recognize that they might be wrong; they are thrilled to be around people who know more than they do because it represents an opportunity to learn something.

The attitude was "If a person of your intelligence and competence and commitment disagrees with me, then there must be something to your disagreement that I don't understand, and I need to understand it. You have a perspective, a frame of reference I need to look at."

Having open-minded conversations with believable people who disagree with you is the quickest way to get an education and to increase your probability of being right.

treasured thoughtful disagreement with them as a way of learning and raising our odds of making good decisions,

I learned a great fear of being wrong that shifted my mind-set from thinking "I'm right" to asking myself "How do I know I'm right?" And I saw clearly that the best way to answer this question is by finding other independent thinkers who are on the same mission as me and who see things differently from me. By engaging them in thoughtful disagreement, I'd be able to understand their reasoning and have them stress-test mine. That way, we can all raise our probability of being right.

radically open-minded requires you to have an accurate self-assessment of your own and others' strengths and weaknesses. This is where understanding something about how the brain works and the different psychometric assessments that can help you discover what your own brain is like comes in. To get the best results out of yourself and others, you must understand that people are wired very differently.

Open-minded people are more curious about why there is disagreement. They are not angry when someone disagrees. They understand that there is always the possibility that they might be wrong and that it's worth the little bit of time it takes to consider the other person's views in order to be sure they aren't missing something or making a mistake.

The point here is that I think this is one part of what the liberal arts mantra of "teaching me how to think" is really supposed to mean: to be just a little less arrogant, to have some "critical awareness" about myself and my certainties... because a huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded.

People who change their minds because they learned something are the winners, whereas those who stubbornly refuse to learn are the losers.

Open-minded people are always more interested in listening than in speaking; they encourage others to voice their views.

Remember, you are not arguing; you are openly exploring what's true.

if you can recognize that you have blind spots and open-mindedly consider the possibility that others might see something better than you--and that the threats and opportunities they are trying to point out really exist--you are more likely to make good decisions.

view. To be radically open-minded you must: a. Sincerely believe that you might not know the best possible path and recognize that your ability to deal well with "not knowing" is more important than whatever it is you do know.