Is Wrong the New Right? (Blog 7)

Instinct Wrong

One day this past summer up in Keystone Colorado, I was walking by and suddenly saw a sign that says "Tent Sales: Here for the next 3 days!" I automatically assumed, "Oh, they're selling tents....Cool?" So when my brother asked if I wanted to go to one, I was a little shocked, I mean really, why do I want to go look at tents that I won't buy or use? So when I told him this, he gave me an "are you kidding?" look and started laughing. Apparently, tent sales are when people sell their merchandise under the big white tents. To this day, my family always reminds me of how funny that moment was. Personally, I don't think it's so funny. There are so many other examples I could give about being wrong. People are wrong every day of their lives. Maybe if you're that person that never does anything wrong and is completely flawless, then maybe you're never wrong. I can't even count how any times I've been wrong in my life. That number has multiple digits in it. But the point the Kathryn Schulz gets across is that, maybe, sometimes it's not so bad to be wrong.

Schulz explains that people today try to avoid being wrong and avoid thinking about being wrong. People get so caught up with trying to be right that sometimes it's hard for them to realize that they are wrong. Kathryn says that being "stuck in that bubble" is a huge problem today. But we don't have to worry because there is a way to get out of the bubble. To get out, we need to know how to realize when we're wrong and become aware of error blindness. Error blindness is not knowing that we're wrong, until it's to late to realize that we're wrong. Actually being wrong doesn't feel like anything but then when you realize you're wrong, that's the part that people hate. So if we become more aware of error blindness, we might be able to avoid it happening more often.

When we are wrong, we are taught that being wrong is bad. The kids that always got bad grades on paper were always "the dumb kids", the kids who didn't try, the slacker kids. We learn that being right is the only way to be successful as kids. But how do we know what's right for him and what's right for her? We are taught that getting something wrong means theres something wrong with us. Kids all around the world would be able to tell you this. But in reality, don't you think that being wrong is the whole point of being human? If everyone were right all the time, where would we be today? Everyone would be successful, everyone would have everything, and everyone would be the same.

So the next time you're debating something, trying to decide if it's right or wrong, slow down. Look at all the facts around you, and be prepared for error blindness. Trusting to much in our choice and feeling can always be dangerous if it goes wrong. We have to realize that everyone sees everything differently, like when you wonder if everyone sees colors the same way as you do. That's the whole reason we get things wrong, it's all about perspective. Something that everyone needs to learn is mistakes are what make us human, mistakes are what help us learn, and mistakes are what create us. But trusting too much in decisions can always lead to worse.