More than 20 years ago, I bought my first computer. I was intrigued by it, used the word processor and played long nights with the flight simulator. And I read a lot of books about how the Internet and computing will change the world. Besides improving the ordeal of writing and wasting hours on a flight game, it didn’t change my life.

“What a hype.”

Maybe the dumbest thought I ever had. 

It took me a few years to change my mind. No, it took me one second to change my mind, after years of battling increasing evidence and chatter. Years of being completely and utterly wrong. 

Being able to flip

My daughter can change her mind in second. When the outside world doesn’t match the world in her head, she can make the switch instantly. Never bothering to look back. We lose this ability the older we get but it’s a muscle we need to train over and over again. 

We are terrible in admitting we were wrong. Instead of reasoning, we are rationalizing. We try to preserve our pre-existing beliefs instead of looking at data and proof with fresh eyes. It happens daily in our family life, at work, when we talk politics. We push facts away that don’t align with our beliefs instead of being open to shift our thinking 

In a world that’s changing fast, being able to flip is essential. It doesn’t mean you have to fall for every fad, for every fresh thought. It means for all of us being able to walk away from our side of the argument and being able to listen to the other side without any built-in defenses.