The following insight turns the meaning of gullibility upside down.
When we were told as children about tooth fairies and Santa Claus, we took our parents word for it. Any grown up still believing in these things would get some strange looks. When we as grown ups take on ideas without due consideration, we’d get labeled as gullible. And gullibility seems like a trait only permissible for those possessing legitimate childlike innocence. In fact when you think of gullibility in grown ups, you might attribute other traits like stupidity, a deprived lack of brain cells and worse. But does gullibility need to be viewed as such a negative trait in grown ups?
Why being gullible is absolutely essential
I was considering what important traits make the best learner. I used to put open mindedness as my highest value. This was partly along the idea that when your mind is closed to alternate ideas and perspectives, you are unable to learn. Having an open mind is absolutely fundamental to learning. It also came from an astute observation. When you piece down any kind of conflict between people, the inability to resolve the conflict always stems from the fact that two parties are unwilling to part from the their personal point of view. It is closed mindedness that perpetuates racism, discrimination, and conflicts (especially those based in beliefs). If everybody were truly to have an open mind, there would be (more) peace and I thought that good enough reason to put this virtue on the top of my list.
Is gullibility a good thing?
So I became fascinated with this idea of an open mind. While I now pursue the virtue of having a flexible mind rather than an open mind, I realized that gullibility is a form of open mindedness. So does this make gullibility a good thing?
When gullibility is a bad thing
Obviously gullibility can lead to some very poor decisions in life, that can have serious consequences. I know I have made a host of those ‘What was I thinking?’ judgments. (It’s a bad idea to phone in response to one of those ‘you’re the millionth visitor, you – and only you – have been awarded a gazillion dollar prize)
Even the smartest of people *cough* can be prone to making gobsmackingly gullible mistakes. Certainly these kind of mistakes are coincided by a lack of caution. And this is no small observation.
Gullibility is only a dangerous quality when it is both combined with a lack of caution and in context of a consequential decision. The only upside to these kind of ‘mistakes’ are that the lessons that follow the mistakes are often worth their weight in gold.
However, with the bad side of gullibility defined…
When gullibility is a good thing
When you think of entertaining new beliefs or ideas in most cases you don’t lead any danger from changing your beliefs. Even major shifts in your beliefs, like a change of religion, will probably not lead to instant death or harm. But people are almost afraid to consider the validity of other beliefs and are quite guarded about new ideas being introduced. While there are many reasons for that…
I found that gullibility is taking place every single time we change our beliefs, whether consciously or subconsciously.
When I reviewed how I changed my beliefs or adopted new ideas over the past years in my own case, I got really excited. I identified two trends. The first trend was that I would routinely enthusiastically adopt a new idea or belief, on the basis of one source or one perspective. Then almost like clockwork, I would move from being gullible to being extremely scrutinizing. I would look for evidence that opposed the new idea or belief. I would disect it’s foundation, criticize it’s arguments and basically be a professional skeptical. If there was anything left of worth, I would ease up on my skepticism and ultimately come down to a middle ground.
The second trend, was almost the reverse. I would start out skeptical and completely disregard an idea or belief. You know when you read something that sounds ridiculous, outlandish or foreign to you, if it doesn’t mesh with your world view, this tends to happen. In some cases I would even experience a sense a negativity just by being exposed to any information or opinion on the subject. Then I noticed that apart from this skepticism, an undeniable force of curiosity would emerge. I wanted to know what made people believe in it. Another peculiar thing that would occur was that the topic would come up over and over again wherever I was. I found myself learning a great deal and becoming comfortable and even adopting many ideas and beliefs I had actively rejected at first. This happened time and time again.
I’m sure this has happened to you too.
Putting the two trends together
When I picked apart these two trends I tried to find out how they fit together. I realized I had been learning new things in a cycle, oscillating between gullibility and skepticism.
A new idea will be introduced somewhere between the two extremes. If the idea manages to stick, it will be carried along, oscillating between waves. An idea might enter at the top, the most gullible state. This could be a very appealing idea in the moment. For example, someone proposes to go on holiday to a tropical island and invites you to come along. Initially you love the idea of being on holiday. It all sounds great. You get excited about it.
Then as time moves on, the idea of the holiday moves down, passing neutrality, toward skepticism. When you hit the bottom, this is where you are at your most skeptical. In the example of a holiday, you might start getting doubts whether the holiday will be fun with in that country. Whether the type of holiday fits you, or if the timing really is that good. You might even go looking for information that confirms your doubts (the hotel you are staying might have poor reviews for example). You might feel that you don’t have the time or the money, etc. At this point, you either abandon the idea, or it moves back upwards.
You may successfully overcome the arguments you made when you were at your most skeptical. Maybe you’ve decided you’ll work a little extra to finance. Or you change your choice of hotel. When you’re climbing up, you start looking for information that supports a more positive outlook. Slowly you get more excited about it again. The prospect of taking the holiday becomes fun again.
This cycle keeps repeating as long as the idea maintains your attention throughout time. The interesting thing is, you will find the number of times an idea passes a full cycle, two things might happen. Either the idea becomes more solid, understood and refined, or the likelihood of abandoning the idea becomes greater. In theory you might say that only good ideas will keep. Why this is not always the case is another topic.
In the context of learning and growth, the baseline of the wave pattern is inclining. Over time, as you take a new idea or belief and it survives it’s way through the different stages, you are learning. In the gullible phase you are likely to find information that confirms your idea, in the skeptical phase you find information that brings the idea into question. In the climb back up, you look for information and reasons that can persuade or overcome your doubts. The more often your ideas successfully pass a full cycle, the more knowledgeable you become. You will start to understand it better, refine the idea and you might create totally new ideas and solutions.
We have touched on a novel angle about how ideas and beliefs are acquired and evolved. This model sparks a host of implications and exciting ideas that will be featured in upcoming articles. Among other things, we will explore what current research has to say and what kind of practical implications this model has.
For now, I hope to have shown you why gullibility can in fact be a great thing, and essential to learning and growth. And the same goes for skepticism.
Can you trace back how gullibility has played a beneficial part in the forming of your own beliefs and learning?