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People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

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Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#31

Post by agumonkey »

Isamu wrote: post #28

A questionnaire from the article: 1) I am willing to admit if I don't know something. 2) I like to compliment others on their intellectual strengths. 3) I try to reflect on my weaknesses in order to develop my intelligence. 4) I actively seek feedback on my ideas, even if it is critical. 5) I acknowledge when someone knows more than me about a certain subject. 6) If someone doesn't understand my idea, it's probably b…

Note that being great in every of these aspects can lead to suffering. Because most people don't and you'll be talked down regularly to the point of breaking. And it's utterly difficult to keep respect for people when you try to be balanced, team oriented and generous when others only know how to assert their POV and limited experience.

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#32

Post by dyarosla »

Isamu wrote: post #28

A questionnaire from the article: 1) I am willing to admit if I don't know something. 2) I like to compliment others on their intellectual strengths. 3) I try to reflect on my weaknesses in order to develop my intelligence. 4) I actively seek feedback on my ideas, even if it is critical. 5) I acknowledge when someone knows more than me about a certain subject. 6) If someone doesn't understand my idea, it's probably b…

My problem lies in being open minded to hearing out someone who, after enough conversing, has an opinion that you’ve delved into deeply before and have seen the glaring shortcomings of, and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings.

That is- dealing with stubborn, close minded people, is incredibly difficult to stay open for me- in the best case I just move on.

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#33

Post by 0815test »

dyarosla wrote: post #32
Isamu wrote: post #28

A questionnaire from the article: 1) I am willing to admit if I don't know something. 2) I like to compliment others on their intellectual strengths. 3) I try to reflect on my weaknesses in order to develop my intelligence. 4) I actively seek feedback on my ideas, even if it is critical. 5) I acknowledge when someone knows more than me about a certain subject. 6) If someone doesn't understand my idea, it's probably b…

My problem lies in being open minded to hearing out someone who, after enough conversing, has an opinion that you’ve delved into deeply before and have seen the glaring shortcomings of, and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings. That is- dealing with stubborn, close minded people, is incredibly difficult to stay open for me- in the best case I just move on.

> and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings.

That's when you should play the part of being stubborn and close-minded yourself, if this is what it takes to ensure that your points are heard. Intellectual humility is the best case, but sometimes it is best to cut one's losses.

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#34

Post by throwawaymath »

The article points out that there are conflicting studies. Personally I don't believe there is a strong correlation (one way or the other) between intellectual humility, intelligence or breadth of knowledge. But my opinion on that matter is entirely unqualified; all I have to go on is basic anecdata I've observed along with my own interiority.

While reading through the article I found this interesting:

> In terms of insight, higher scorers in intellectual humility were less likely to claim knowledge they didn’t have (the researchers tested this by assessing participants’ willingness to claim familiarity with entirely fictitious facts that they couldn’t possibly know), and they also tended to underestimate their performance on a cognitive ability test.

I can appreciate the reasoning behind asking that question, but the fact that it's so useful for judging intellectual humility saddens me. Why would a person spontaneously respond, "Yes" when asked if they're familiar with a thing they know they aren't? What does that say about us as a species, that this behavior is so prevalent?

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#36

Post by GuiA »

dyarosla wrote: post #32
Isamu wrote: post #28

A questionnaire from the article: 1) I am willing to admit if I don't know something. 2) I like to compliment others on their intellectual strengths. 3) I try to reflect on my weaknesses in order to develop my intelligence. 4) I actively seek feedback on my ideas, even if it is critical. 5) I acknowledge when someone knows more than me about a certain subject. 6) If someone doesn't understand my idea, it's probably b…

My problem lies in being open minded to hearing out someone who, after enough conversing, has an opinion that you’ve delved into deeply before and have seen the glaring shortcomings of, and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings. That is- dealing with stubborn, close minded people, is incredibly difficult to stay open for me- in the best case I just move on.

Sounds to me like you enter conversations with a pre-made idea of what you want the conclusion to be.

Questions to ask yourself if you feel that way regularly:

Have you considered that various shortcomings might hold different weights to people depending on their background, experience in other adjacent domains, etc? That what is factual for you might not be so to others?

How do you know that your analysis of the shortcomings are correct/pertinent? That the person you're talking to hasn't delved in it as deeply as you have and just reached a different conclusion? Are you the close minded one for having decided early in the conversation that because you've thought about it in a certain way in the past, any interlocutor who thinks of it differently is necessarily wrong and stubborn?

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#37

Post by nordsieck »

0815test wrote: post #33
dyarosla wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My problem lies in being open minded to hearing out someone who, after enough conversing, has an opinion that you’ve delved into deeply before and have seen the glaring shortcomings of, and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings. That is- dealing with stubborn, close minded people, is incredibly difficult to stay open for me- in the best case I just move on.

> and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings. That's when you should play the part of being stubborn and close-minded yourself, if this is what it takes to ensure that your points are heard. Intellectual humility is the best case, but sometimes it is best to cut one's losses.

>> and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings.

> That's when you should play the part of being stubborn and close-minded yourself, if this is what it takes to ensure that your points are heard.

Do you honestly believe that this is an effective technique in spreading your ideas?

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#38

Post by coconut_crab »

> A final study showed that participants who read a popular magazine article about the malleability of intelligence (designed to foster a “growth mindset”) subsequently scored higher on intellectual humility than another group who read an article about intelligence being fixed. > What’s more, those in the growth mindset condition went on to display a more positive approach when imagining dealing with someone with opposing views, and this seemed to be driven by their increased intellectual humility.

I find this part interesting as it might explain why some communities are so toxic and other... nicer: the niceness can spread between members. So the first few members are very important in setting up the community's culture.

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#39

Post by kjsbfkjbf »

astazangasta wrote: post #29

I'll say this gets causality backwards. Intellectual humility is a luxury of the obviously skilled. In a room of smart people where everyone is competing for influence and attention, admitting your lack of knowledge can be a real handicap. When I was younger rather than admit anything I just kept my mouth shut. Now when I am in a room, no one questions I know what I am talking about, and I can usually establish my ex…

You're also getting at why it's difficult for those underrepresented in industry to make headway or gain knowledge. It's not as easy as "we have a diverse team". :)

Re: People with Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge

#40

Post by vmurthy »

Isn’t there a chance it’s the other way round. People might start off arrogant but once they acquire enough superior general knowledge they figure they know jack and forces them to be humble ? It’s a common enough fallacy to get cause and effect backwards.
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