Just Finished Reading: The Scout Mindset – Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t by Julia Galef (FP: 2021) [238pp] 

Back in my youth I was always up for an argument. I generally didn’t go out of my way to start one, but I was always/often up to actively engaging in one. Part of that, being both young and rather naïve, was the (often erroneous) belief that I knew what I was talking about. I also liked ‘winning’. But that’s the young for you... 

One thing I did discover early on was that some people knew how to debate things – even abstract things – and others clearly didn’t. It wasn’t because some people were ignorant. Although I can’t deeply debate topics I know little about, I can still engage enough with the form and logic of what’s being talked about. What I found particularly interesting is when the topic was religion or belief. Back in the day I used to be a rather outspoken Atheist. As before I didn’t start the argument but was MORE than up for it (I’ve toned down a LOT since then). When a Christian said that they were happy to debate me I took them at their word. It quickly (and sometimes very quickly) transpired that they had no such intent. What they clearly had in mind was to convince me that I was wrong. OK, back then I had essentially the same objective, but I was, at least theoretically, open to the idea that I was wrong. The issue from the other side was that whilst *I* was engaging in what (to me) was essentially a philosophical argument, *they* were engaging in a personal existential one. Their religious belief was a vital integral part of their identity, and this was very much NOT up for debate despite what they originally said. It took me a while to clue into this (youth again) and learn not to jump into the debate with both feet. I transitioned to questions about how they came to their beliefs rather than if they were valid. This meant that things tended to fizzle out but at least the level of offense and feelings of personal attack were substantially reduced! These days I’m far more interest in WHY people believe certain things and not very interested in WHAT they believe. People, including me no doubt, believe lots of weird stuff and I actually find the reasons for that belief to be far more interesting than the (weird) beliefs themselves. 

So, what does all of that have to do with the book? One of the things the author brings out – not surprisingly considering the title – is that there are generally two mindsets which she calls the Soldier and the Scout. The soldier's job is essentially providing defence – so protecting what you already know and preventing outside ideas from causing confusion and unease. Its job is to stop you changing your beliefs every time you hear/experience something new or unexpected or every time the wind changes direction. This, most of the time and for most of human history, has been a most sensible approach. But whilst that can be OK if nothing, or very little, changes in the external world it’s not exactly the best strategy in a world with a diversity of people, opinions, environments or profoundly new experiences. In that kind of world you need to be open to change, you need to seek out solutions to new problems and you have to be able to question previously held beliefs about it, modify them and even, from time to time, reject them all together for new ones – ones that more closely represent the truth of things. That can be tough of course, most especially when strongly held beliefs are part of a person's core identity. The metaphor that popped into my mind was of a house. With a Scout mindset changing a picture on one of the walls or even changing the wallpaper, carpet or furniture layout might cause a bit of (temporary) upheaval and might, if you’re being particularly ‘creative’, take a bit of getting used to but in the grand scheme of things it's no big deal. Now imagine putting up a cute or funny picture in your bathroom that caught your eye in a thrift shop – but in order to hang it in place you first need to demolish the entire house and rebuild it from the foundations up. In the 2nd scenario it’s MUCH more likely that the picture will never get hung and don’t even THINK about changing the wallpaper the house came with when you moved in. 

If you struggle with changing your mind about things or want to be flexible in your approach to new information or unfamiliar modes of thought this book might help with that. The author has a very good ‘voice’ and fully understands how finding yourself in unfamiliar territory without a map or guide of any kind can be incredibly stressful to many people. Cultivating a Scout mindset, at least when appropriate or when required, can help and this interesting and thought-provoking book will provide you with the tools to do so. Despite already believing I’m primarily a Scout I still found this to be a valuable read. Definitely recommended.