#253: Moving to a New Town, Gibson’s Law & Going Wrong
3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Going Wrong
I. Moving to a New Town
Moving to a New Town is a neat Zen story about the art of being “right” while still being completely wrong, depending on what you bring with you.
Two men visit a Zen master. The first man says: “I’m thinking of moving to this town. What’s it like?” The Zen master asks: “What was your old town like?” The first man responds: “It was dreadful. Everyone was hateful. I hated it.”
The Zen master says: “This town is very much the same. I don’t think you should move here.”
The first man leaves and the second man comes in. The second man says: “I’m thinking of moving to this town. What’s it like?” The Zen master asks: “What was your old town like?” The second man responds: “It was wonderful. Everyone was friendly and I was happy. Just interested in a change now.”
The Zen master says: “This town is very much the same. I think you will like it here.”
—Unknown
👉 You’ll find more of this in my article on 5 Zen Stories Worth Contemplating for Years (Or Not at All)
II. Gibson’s Law
For every PhD, there is an equal and opposite PhD.
Are you in public relations or practising law? Then you may have heard of Gibson’s Law. Whether you’re calling expert witnesses to the stand or have found a scientist who’ll support our Ultimate Small Creator Opportunity and Resource Expansion (USCOREA) Act, you’ll be running into the same issue.
The opposing side will have no issue finding a highly credentialed expert who will happily disagree with yours. Especially on complex, uncertain, political high-stakes issues. So what are you going to do? Compare evidence and consensus, not isolated appeals to authorities.
III. Going Wrong
To go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s.
—Fyodor Dostoevsky
It’s better to think for yourself and get things wrong than to be right just by following others. Because your own mistakes, experienced firsthand, teach you more than blindly outsourcing your brain to someone else’s confidence.
I think that’s why I like Zen stories quite a bit. They don’t tell you what to think. They show you how quickly you start trying to turn experience into a fixed explanation. 🐘
Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com