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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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The Scout Mindset summary
Julia Galef
Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
28 mins
Brief summary
The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef explores the importance of having an honest and open-minded perspective towards information in order to make better decisions. It teaches readers to abandon biases and approach situations with curiosity to see what's really there.
Table of Contents
The Scout Mindset
Summary of 6 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 6
What’s so bad about the soldier mindset?
Let’s get started by answering that question from earlier: What’s so bad about the soldier mindset?
After all, being a staunch defender of your beliefs doesn’t sound so terrible, right? When you put it like that, having a soldier mindset sort of sounds like a good thing.
To explain why it’s not, here’s a story. It’s a famous one, a true one, and it does a particularly good job of demonstrating the damage that a soldier mindset can do. It’s the story of the Dreyfus affair.
Our story begins in 1894, in France – specifically, inside the German embassy in France. In the German embassy, a cleaning person has found a torn-up memo in a wastebasket. Now, this cleaning person just so happens to be a French spy, and that memo just so happens to contain information about French military matters. Someone has been selling French secrets to the Germans.
In short order, Albert Dreyfus, a French army officer, is accused of treason. The handwriting on the memo is similar to Dreyfus’s. Dreyfus has also had access to the information revealed in the memo. And, what’s more, Dreyfus just doesn’t seem to be such a great guy – he’s a gambler and, rumor has it, a womanizer.
Dreyfus pleads his innocence, but he’s found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island.
Now, you probably already know this, but Dreyfus was innocent. What’s more, there was plenty of evidence pointing to his innocence. So why was he imprisoned? This is where the soldier mindset comes in. The people who investigated Dreyfus wanted to believe that he was guilty. Why? Well, his guilt fit nicely into their worldview.
You see, Dreyfus was Jewish. The French military at that time was highly anti-Semitic. He was also apparently of dubious character. Remember: rumors of gambling and womanizing. So the investigators weren’t looking at the evidence and asking whether it pointed to guilt or innocence. They were assuming guilt, and focusing on evidence that supported that assumption.
For instance, a second handwriting expert also analyzed the memo, and he said it hadn’t been written by Dreyfus. But the investigators chose not to believe that. And when the investigators searched Dreyfus’s home for further evidence, and found nothing, they didn’t pause and reconsider. They concluded he must have disposed of it.
Even when a second man came under suspicion – a man whose handwriting matched the memo’s exactly – experts reasoned that he’d learned to copy Dreyfus’s handwriting!
So, why isn’t the soldier mindset such a great thing? Well, for one, it can result in an innocent person being wrongly accused and sent to prison!
But more generally, the main drawback of the soldier mindset is that it can blind us to the truth. If we’re so busy seeing what we want to see and seeking evidence that backs up what we already believe, then we may never see what’s really there or have our beliefs changed for the better. But if the soldier mindset is so obviously bad, why do people adopt it in the first place?
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What is The Scout Mindset about?
The Scout Mindset (2021) explores two very different mindsets: that of the soldier and that of the scout. It explains that most of us have a soldier mindset – we cling to our beliefs and often ignore evidence that might prove us wrong. But we can all learn to be scouts, seeking out truth and improving our “map” of the world.
The Scout Mindset Review
The Scout Mindset (2021) explores the power of thinking like a scout and challenges our cognitive biases. Here's why this book is definitely worth reading:
- It provides a fresh perspective on how to approach decision-making, helping us make more rational choices.
- By presenting compelling examples and research findings, it offers insights into how we can improve our thinking and overcome confirmation bias.
- Engaging and thought-provoking, the book inspires us to cultivate a scout mindset and embrace curiosity, leading to personal growth and better understanding of the world.
Who should read The Scout Mindset?
- Anyone who wants to overcome their inherent biases
- People who want to learn how to be wrong
- Truth seekers
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The Scout Mindset FAQs
What is the main message of The Scout Mindset?
The main message of The Scout Mindset is to approach life with curiosity, open-mindedness, and a commitment to seek truth.
How long does it take to read The Scout Mindset?
The reading time for The Scout Mindset varies from reader to reader. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is The Scout Mindset a good book? Is it worth reading?
The Scout Mindset is worth reading for its insightful exploration of how adopting a scout mindset can improve decision-making and lead to personal growth.
Who is the author of The Scout Mindset?
The author of The Scout Mindset is Julia Galef.
What to read after The Scout Mindset?
If you're wondering what to read next after The Scout Mindset, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes
- The Greatness Mindset by Lewis Howes
- 12 Rules For Life by Jordan B. Peterson
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Good Judgment by Richard Davis
- Free and Equal by Daniel Chandler
- How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen
- Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte
- Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
- Dare to Lead by Brené Brown