The certainty of my uncertainty

No one teaches us how to think. It’s not something we learn in high school and it’s not until perhaps college where we may be instructed as to the fine art of critical thinking or logic and philosophy. Many of us make important decisions based on emotional thinking.

Several months ago, friends and I were sitting around my strangely colored living room drinking cocktails and discussing the state of things. “Things” in this case would be politics, divisions between genders and society, physics, magic, writing – we frequently have such discussions here in Boston. We are not afraid of expressing opinions and having gentle (sometimes not so gentle) debate.

I can’t remember the exact topic of conversation at the time but my son who is a student of physics at UMass Boston said to me, “Why are you always so certain about things?”

I was taken aback. And a bit offended. But mostly taken aback. I didn’t know how to respond to him.

The question he asked comes from his training as a scientist. Scientists question the questions. Kyler is extremely apt in questioning questions and everything else for that matter, but this particular question somehow lodged itself in my brain and has become a fundamental anchor point in my journey to greater self awareness.

Richard Feynman, a professor of theoretical physics and Nobel Prize winner, said, “It is imperative in science to doubt; it is absolutely necessary, for progress in science, to have uncertainty as a fundamental part of your inner nature. To make progress in understanding, we must remain modest and allow that we do not know.”

So, bare with me a moment and let’s talk about how scientific thinking can be used to soften the hard assumptions we may have about current events or personal situations.

Science concerns itself with observation, data, and later the creation of theories based upon those observations and data. These theories are checked and rechecked. Sometimes experiment and new data comes along and the theories are re-evaluated, updated, or changed completely.

There are certain things that we know for sure – for instance, that the earth is round and that it obits the sun. The speed of light is a constant. These truths are things upon which we can build greater knowledge. They are the bottom-line hard-core facts and from here we can move forward.

We, as non-scientists, often build our ideas and opinions on bias, prejudices, assumptions, beliefs. To state these assumptions, prejudices, and beliefs as fact does not serve us. It limits our ability to see further and learn something new. It affects the nature and accuracy of our interactions with others. We, as Feynman said, need to remain modest and we need to be smart.

American astronomer and cosmologist, Carl Sagan, discussed the fine art of scientific thinking in his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. He argued that logical thought is not only critical to the pursuit of truth in science, but in reading the book today we can apply Sagan’s advice that will allow us to make intelligent decisions in a world of fake news and innuendo.

BrainPickings does an excellent job at summarizing some of Sagan’s tools which comes from his chapter, The Art of Baloney Detection.

• Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the “facts.”
• Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.
• Arguments from authority carry little weight — “authorities” have made mistakes in the past. They will do so again in the future. Perhaps a better way to say it is that in science there are no authorities; at most, there are experts.
• Spin more than one hypothesis.
• Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it’s yours.

This is important. Logical thinking, not emotional thinking, will keep us safe from those seeking to manipulate us. It means that our own personal standards of ethics, morals, and the understanding of the world around us is one that we see which is informed by truth. I suspect that if we all spend more time listening and thinking critically, one by one we will help make a better more accurately informed world … at the very least, we should be able to evaluate our own arguments before presenting them to others.

I’m learning that I am not certain of much. And that’s ok. In fact, being uncertain is a pretty good place to be and gives freedom to seek new answers, ask better questions, and ponder the unknown.

Challenge what you know. Challenge what you hear. Challenge what you think.

Lisa Mikulski is a freelance writer and photographer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. Contact me and let’s write your story.