We can ask ourselves a series of questions to assess the accuracy of our own beliefs1:
- Why might my belief not be true?
- What other evidence might be out there bearing on my belief?
- Are there similar areas I can look toward to gauge whether similar beliefs to mine are true?
- What sources of information could I have missed or minimized on the way to reaching my belief?
- What are the reasons someone else could have a different belief, what’s their support, and why might they be right instead of me?
- What other perspectives are there as to why things turned out the way they did”
1.
Duke, A. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts. (Portfolio, New York, 2019).