12/26(Tue) THINK AGAIN by Adam Grant (Host:Kooper)

[Kooper]

Dear YOYO friends,

Please watch below 8-minute video and gear yourself up for the questions to be discussed before coming to the meeting. Thanks.

Note: You can start from 1:19 to save watch time. Here is "1-page summary" if you prefer being a reader than a viewer.


Questions for Discussion
Session One:
1. What is an overconfidence cycle? Why does it stem from a preference for feeling right over being right?

2. About preaching mode, when you are trying to convince someone to adopt your belief, do you tend to pretend to be 100% certain in your belief? What would be the adverse impact of this tendency on yourself?

3. Why does being stuck in prosecuting mode or politicking mode prevent us from getting out of the overconfidence cycle and rethinking our own views?

4. Please share an experience of yours (or people you know) in which your mind was clouded by any of the three modes and that prevented you from becoming more right or less wrong?

Session Two:
1. Why do we need to think like a scientist when forming our ideas and beliefs? Why is scientist mode superior to the other three modes?

2. The video uses a 2016 experiment on entrepreneurship to make a case for scientist mode. Now let’s think critically and examine the experiment carefully (In other words, think like a scientist!). Is the experiment robust enough to you? Which part of it needs further validation or can be further improved?

3. Adam Grant promotes the idea of rethinking cycle and the attitude of confident humility. What are they and why is confident humility beneficial to us?

4. Adam Grant recommended two ways of keeping the rethinking cycle going. What are they and do they make sense to you? What is your own way of staying open-minded?

Bonus question: (can be discussed in either of the sessions)
Share one occasion where you significantly changed your opinions or beliefs. How did it happen and could it be explained by the use of scientist mode?

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Agenda:
6:45 ~ 7:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
7:00 ~ 7:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:10 ~ 7:45pm Discussion Session (35 mins)
7:45 ~ 8:00pm Summarization (15 mins)
8:00 ~ 8:05pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 5 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:05 ~ 8:40pm Discussion Session (35 mins)
8:40 ~ 8:55pm Summarization (15 mins)
8:55 ~ 9:00pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements

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Meeting Date: As shown on the Subject Line
Meeting Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Meeting Venue: 丹堤咖啡 Dante Coffee (Minimum Order $85)
Address: 台北市濟南路三段25號[MAP]-捷運忠孝新生站3號出口步行3分鐘

Important Notes:
1. We advise participants to print out the discussion questions and bring them to the meeting for reference. As for the supporting articles, feel free to print them out, as well, according to your preference.
2. We suggest that participants read the articles and think about the questions in advance.
3. Newcomers should prepare a two-to-three minute self-introduction in English to deliver when called upon by the host before the start of the discussion. The host may also ask you to give brief feedback about the meeting at the conclusion of the meeting.
4. We conduct the entire meeting in English. All participants should have at least moderate English-conversation skills and be able to articulate your ideas for each discussion question.
5. We welcome newcomers and other guests to attend the meetings and join the discussion freely for two times. After that, we hope you will consider becoming a YoYo English Club member. We charge a NT$1500 lifetime membership fee, or NT$1000 for students.

[Iris Wu]

Trying to cover an entire book in one YoYo meeting is no small feat, especially with a book as rich in key points as this one, where every argument requires you to “Think Again”, or think trice before it registers in your brain.

At first glance, “Think Again” is similar to our familiar proverb, “Think Trice, Act Once.” However, it delves deeper into many supporting arguments that shed light on why some mindsets can leave us blind to our blindness, giving us false confidence in our judgment. A point that particularly struck a chord with me is the concept of detaching your opinions from your identity. Yes, if our ideas, and ideologies are linked too closely with our identity, we will be less open and less adaptive to new information that challenges our beliefs.

Nevertheless, I find myself struggling with the balance between “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” and the adaptive mindset advocated in “Think Again.” When should one persist with grit, and when should one embrace the flexibility of rethinking?

[Sherry Liao]

First, I have to admit that this video is too difficult for me to understand. Also wondering if anyone has downloaded the 1-page PDF summary mentioned at the end of the video clip..

[Rock]

...Yes, if our ideas, and ideologies are linked too closely with our identity, we will be less open and less adaptive to new information that challenges our beliefs.

Rosie gave me a chance to experience belief challenged in the meeting. She mentioned that some people won't close the toilet lid because they believe it won't make too much difference flushing the toilet with the lid up or down. I happened to be one of them. Actually I thought it's one of the urban myths people read on the internet. How is it possible that the turbulance of a flush can cause diseases? But, after an easy google search, it turned out that it's science and experimentally proven.

But when I was searching on the internet, I was kind of hoping to find some evidence to support me. When I found it says no, I was less happy on the new knowledge learned but more unhappy on my idea corrected. This case clearly and cruelly shows that I am not open-minded and should think twice or trice before my opinions made. Now I need to go back and rethink about my life...

[Iris Wu]

But when I was searching on the internet, I was kind of hoping to find some evidence to support me. When I found it says no, I was less happy on the new knowledge learned but more unhappy on my idea corrected. This case clearly and cruelly shows that I am not open-minded and should think twice or trice before my opinions made. Now I need to go back and rethink about my life...

I had a similar confession during the group discussion.
I think it’s easier to be open-minded when we are not involved in the debate or argument. Once, in a YoYo meeting, for a subject that was supposedly impersonal, but just because someone and I held different opinions, we became so defensive. I could sense our egos getting attached to our viewpoints. It seemed as though we were defending our identities through our opinions on an irrelevant topic.

The good thing is that this forum allows us to self-reflect. This can even save your marriage, you know.
Actually, you are quite open-minded to me. I remember once Luis said something to challenge your argument, and you were completely “defeated” and looked lost, but you just said, “I hate you” in a pretty funny way. I kind of admire you for that.

[Rock]

I looked defeated at that moment?
Shoot, next time I'm gonna fight that guy for another hour.