E036 Why Don't Smart People Agree?

Passionately Wrong Podcast Episode E036

Why Don’t Smart People Agree?

Key takeaway: Smart people don’t disagree for a variety of reasons, having to do with their background, their sources of information, and their motivation. In this episode, Randy and James discuss reasons why people disagree and a variety of things one can do to have better discussions.

Topics covered in this video: 

• Smart people acting in good faith can disagree about a topic for many reasons. They come from different circumstances, get input from diverse sources (which may be incomplete or biased), and have different outlooks on life. Some people have book smarts and others have street smarts
• Can we assume parties to a discussion come to it with an open mind? A person can be acting in good faith and not have an open mind at all.
• More people are unwilling to have a discussion or entertain alternative viewpoints
• When you attack a person rather than their viewpoint, it says something about you and your ability to defend your own viewpoint
• People have evolved to make quick decisions on incomplete information and are emotional when making decisions. Being intelligent does not protect as much as we’d like to think
• How to disagree with (or question) an expert. 
• The many pitfalls of expertise as it relates to thinking and decision-making
• People have different objectives, which allows them to disagree when they agree on the facts
• Why recognizing and stating your objectives is helpful
• When it’s OK to experiment with other approaches, and how
• Explain your reasoning, show some humility