HACKER Q&A
📣 11thEarlOfMar

Are You Open-Minded?


Open-mindedness means that you're receptive to new ideas and experiences and generally do not reject them outright. Implausible or seemingly impossible, an open-minded person will listen to the basis of ideas, concepts and information and weigh that basis before making a determination about whether or not the idea is true and worth assimilating. Or try a new experience with less pre-judgment of whether you'll appreciate it.

In my view, there is a critical nuance in open-mindedness: It applies whether or not the idea is consistent with what I already believe to be true. As an open-minded person, I feel that I need to regularly reevaluate my beliefs as new information comes to light, even if that new information directly contradicts a basis for a firmly held belief.

I'm curious to know examples that you've had where you've learned new information that contradicted what you already firmly believed, and through open-mindedness, changed your belief accordingly.


  👤 Hackbraten Accepted Answer ✓
One of the major examples in my life is that with respect to medication, I used to lean anti-“chemicals” and preferred herbal medicine, at least whenever I had the choice.

Completely turned around when I read more about it and after a while realized that the boundary between human-made and natural chemical compounds is completely arbitrary. Realizing that nature has its fair share of deathly toxic substances too also helped.