Introduction
This book by Julia Galef explores the difference between what she defines as a Scout Mindset and a Soldier Mindset.
We are probably more familiar with the soldier mindset. It’s when you defend your ideas, even when there is clear evidence that you are wrong. A soldier’s mindset is defensive about one’s beliefs and sees challenges to them as personal attacks.
When I read the concept of a soldier mindset, the first thought I had was confirmation bias. Briefly, this is the idea of being immersed in a concept and refusing to see a different idea of the world. You usually see such an attitude in all political debates when none of the parties wants to reckon that a different view exists, and even when you personally watch a political debate, you can notice more clearly what you agree with.
On the other end, the scout mindset seeks the truth. For any topic, controversial or not, a scout wants to know exactly what’s going on under the hood. It doesn’t stay in her option only because I used to think so.
As the author expresses at the very beginning, neither of us is 100% soldier, nor 100% scout. We are all something in the middle, but somehow, we all lean toward being soldiers. If you explore the book, you will surely see yourself in one of the behaviors.