Embracing Mental Confusion
by Alan Pritt
What is confusion?
Your brain is an understanding machine. For example, on a very simple level when I see this pattern...
...I immediately understand that it is depicting a square. My brain cells see the four right angles and use that data to deduce that it is a square. In truth, there isn't a square there at all; it is merely suggested by the corners.
While some optical illusions set out to deceive us, our visual interpretation of the world is usually correct. By building up a mental simulation of the real world, we are able to function properly within it.
A nice example of this is 'chicken glasses'. Normally a chicken sees some feed, moves over to where her eyes tell her the food is, and then starts pecking at it. But you can confuse the chicken by giving it special glasses! These glasses refract the image that the chicken sees by a few degrees so they think the food is in one spot, but it is actually a few degrees to the side. When the chicken pecks for the food, they just find dust! Suddenly the chicken's mental model of the world doesn't fit the reality; and they can't function properly.
Our model of the physical world is usually pretty good. We've had plenty of time to practice and hone that model. But confusion is a common occurrence in more difficult subjects; particularly subjects that are new to us.
As we explore a subject, we develop a mental model of how that subject works. As we gather new information, we try to fit it into that mental model.
But frequently, new information doesn't quite agree with our current model of the world. When this happens we will develop a sense of confusion.
The cause of confusion can be expanded into these 3 points:
- The new information may be inaccurate
- Your present knowledge may be inaccurate
- There may be gaps in your knowledge that stop you connecting the dots needed for understanding
An example for the last point is something I learnt quite recently. The new concept I learnt was that lowering taxes actually increases the amount of tax the government collects. This sounded like a contradiction until I heard the explanation: Lower taxes means people have more money in their pockets to invest or buy with. This boosts the economy so everyone gets richer. The richer you are the higher your percentage of tax is actually worth.
The closed mind
Unfortunately, many people are not in touch with their mental confusion. They are told a fact, accept it, and then start telling other people that fact.A frequent comment I hear is that every few years America has to go to war to boost their economy. I'm not sure where this idea originally came from, and I don't really want to discuss whether it is true or not. My interest is in the structure of the conversation.
When I first heard the statement, I was immediately confused by it. The statement didn't fit with my model of the world. I had the knowledge and understanding that the opposite was true, and war actually cripples economies. So my reaction was to ask questions to try and clear up my state of confusion. Generally I get an answer to my first question, but if I probe deeper the response turns into an 'I don't know'.
Even though people often don't know what they are talking about, they generally say it anyway. General statements that are not backed up with understanding get spread across the social network like a viral disease. These are known as memes.
Sometimes these memes are good and true, other times they are destructive myths. It can take a smart mind to spot which ones are false. Nobodies perfect; but we can all get better.
One of the most important things we can do is to listen to that tiny nagging voice at the back of our mind that says, something doesn't quite make sense here.
When we blindly accept a fact without quite grasping it, we do so because we don't properly integrate that statement with our existing knowledge. It's easy to accept a fact on a surface level, but if we dig a little bit deeper we are almost guaranteed to fall prey to some mental confusion. We can use this as a rough guide to check how well we have investigated new learning. If you hear a new fact and accept it without questioning it, you may well be operating with blind faith. That's okay sometimes, but you should be aware when you do it.
Sitting on the fence
In many cases there is nothing wrong with being indecisive. There are elements of every single subject that I am confused about. This won't go away; there is no way of ridding myself of that confusion. In fact, the more I study, the more confusion there will be.This doesn't mean I'm dim, or that I live in a state of constant confusion. It just means that there are always areas in every subject where I have unanswered questions.
I don't have unlimited time to explore those confusions, so I happily live with them. However, I also acknowledge them. This is important, because it gives me the option of increasing my knowledge where I know it is lacking.
It is in these areas where I know I am lacking, that I sit on the fence. There are major popular topics where everyone seems to have an opinion one way or another. Many people think they have to take a side. But if you're not willing to try to understand these topics at a slightly deeper level, you will be better off accepting your slight confusion and perching yourself on the fence. This way you will avoid spreading rumours or taking action based on inaccurate information.
Summary
To sum up, then, here are four benefits of embracing mental confusion:- it works as a fact checker
- it reveals errors in our understanding of the world
- it reveals gaps in our knowledge
- it makes the learning deeper, so that we memorise it better and can use the information more effectively
