In Defense of Being Wrong

The most profound thing you can say at the end of an argument is, “I was wrong.”

Think about the last time you said those words. How did you get there? Who did you say it to? What did you learn?

Adam Grant defines critical thinking as “approaching new information with a mix of curiosity and doubt,” and gauging:

• the credibility of the source,
• the rigor of the logic, and
• the validity of the evidence.

Now, think about the last time you ended an argument by saying (out loud or to yourself), “I was right.” Did you check the source, the logic, and the evidence?

Critical thinking is almost guaranteed to be found by the time we say, “I was wrong.” I’m not so sure that’s the case when we say, “I was right.”

Let’s be wrong more often.