Having learned something, we tend to cling to that belief, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. New information comes in all time, and the thing we ought to be thinking about doing is changing our beliefs as that new information comes in.
Interpretation
We often hold onto our beliefs despite new evidence suggesting otherwise, and we should be open to changing our views as we learn.
This quote by Daniel Levitin highlights a common human tendency to cling to existing beliefs even when faced with contradicting evidence. It emphasizes the importance of adaptability and the willingness to update our understanding based on new information, suggesting that personal growth and wisdom come from being open-minded and flexible in our beliefs.
In practice
A speaker addressing a group about the importance of adaptability in the workplace may use this quote to encourage employees to embrace new ideas.
As soon as you hear a proposition, the creative brain in humans assumes for the moment that it's true, and starts trying to find evidence. It's what computer scientists in the old days used to call 'Fifo:' first in, first out. The first piece of information that gets in has a privileged position, even if it's misinformation.
What music is better able to do than language is to represent the complexity of human emotional states.
Information overload refers to the notion that we're trying to take in more than the brain can handle.
That walk around the block, that fresh air, is going to help you work more quickly and effectively when you get back.
There are a lot of books about how to get organized and a lot of books about how to be better and more productive at business, but I don't know of one that grounds any of these in the science.
There's an ancient connection between movement and music. Most languages don't make a distinction between the words 'music' and 'dance.' And we can see that in the brain. When people are lying perfectly still but listening to music, the neurons in the motor cortex are firing.
Be the cure. Don't look outside yourself for it.
I don't underrate the value of military knowledge, but if men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail.
It's a great lesson about not being too precious about your writing. You have to try your hardest to be at the top of your game and improve every joke you can until the last possible second, and then you have to let it go. You can't be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it...You have to let people see what you wrote.
The world is governed more by appearance than realities so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it.
To invent out of knowledge means to produce inventions that are true. Every man should have a built-in automatic crap detector operating inside him. It also should have a manual drill and a crank handle in case the machine breaks down. If you're going to write, you have to find out what's bad for you. Part of that you learn fast, and then you learn what's good for you.
Scarcely any degree of judgment is sufficient to restrain the imagination from magnifying that on which it is long detained
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