How to Think for Yourself

Understanding where you fall in the spectrum from conventional to independent-minded can be tricky. Conventional-minded people don't like to think of themselves as conventional-minded. And the independent-minded, meanwhile, are often unaware how different their ideas are from conventional ones, at least till they state them publicly. But in most cases, if you're naturally independent-minded, you're going to find it frustrating to be a middle manager. And if you're naturally conventional-minded, you're going to be sailing into a headwind if you try to do original research.

Some strategies to follow to cultivate independent-mindedness:

• Be less aware what conventional beliefs are. It's hard to be a conformist if you don't know what you're supposed to conform to.
• Surround yourself with independent-minded people. Hearing other people say surprising things will encourage you to express your ideas and think of more of them.
• Read history. You can expand the source of influences in time as well as space, by reading history.
• Cultivate an attitude of skepticism. Take upon yourself the burden of evaluating what others say.

According to Paul Graham, internal structure of independent-mindedness has three components: fastidiousness about truth, resistance to being told what to think, and curiosity.

Fastidiousness about truth means more than just not believing things that are false. It means being careful about degree of belief.

In the most independent-minded people, the desire not to be told what to think is a positive force. It's not mere skepticism, but an active delight in ideas that subvert the conventional wisdom, the more counter intuitive the better.

The third component of independent-mindedness, curiosity, may be the most interesting. To the extent that we can give a brief answer to the question of where novel ideas come from, it's curiosity. That's what people are usually feeling before having them.

First, you want to avoid situations that suppress curiosity. The most important active step you can take to cultivate your curiosity is probably to seek out the topics that engage it. Few adults are equally curious about everything. It's up to you to find your niche that sparks curiosity the most.