The mines in your mind - 2

Continuing from the previous post. There are many behaviours that are exhibited by all of us that makes me believe that it’s not just the three mines that I spoke about but possibly endless amount of mental constructs that could create a mine in your mind. I would like to write about two more.

A critical part of our thinking process is based on the sequence of information. We analyse and decide on a course of action based on the information that is received and comprehended. For a little while imagine a sequence of information presented to you about let’s say a person. In this sequence in the information presented is that one of the behaviour traits is “egoistic”. Now think about how and when this information is provided. Is it the first or first few traits that have been provided to you or is it at the tail end of the information. Analyse also the way your own perception changes. Two people with the exact same traits will be treated different because of the sequence in which their traits were presented to you. We all have a bias towards what we believe is most appropriate and as such mentally we tend to give more weightage to information that conforms to our mental makeup. Treat all information the same and not on the basis of the sequence it was presented in. See the full picture and not just the honeymoon that was created in your mind due to the sequence of information. First impressions are most often wrong !

We all have beliefs and we all look for things that can reinforce that belief. The few times we encounter something that is contrary to the belief we tend to filter out that something and forget about it completely. This is because we hurt when something is presented that shakes or has the potential to shake the belief. It’s human nature to resist change. This mind mine impacts all new information we receive. If something does not conform to the belief we hold dear, we reject it and the along with it the possibilities that it would open up. In the role I play as an enterprise architect this is something I see most often and changing the view points of someone becomes very hard. I too could and probably have this bias and my endeavour is to be open to all ideas no matter how they feel or sound. This mind mine works almost in total opposition to the scientific method.

There are so many more mines that I can think of and write about. (That statement itself is a mine). Rational thought requires one to look at facts without bias , without rose tinted glasses, see things for what they are and not for what you believe them to be or feel they should be,

C