143 | Julia Galef on Openness, Bias, and Rationality

<p>Mom, apple pie, and rationality — all things that are unquestionably good, right? But rationality, as much as we might value it, is easier to aspire to than to achieve. And there are more than a few hot takes on the market suggesting that we shouldn’t even&nbsp;<em>want</em>&nbsp;to be rational — that it’s inefficient or maladaptive. Julia Galef is here to both stand up for the value of being rational, and to explain how we can better achieve it. She distinguishes between the “soldier mindset,” where we believe what we’re told about the world and march toward a goal, and the “scout mindset,” where we’re open-minded about what’s out there and always asking questions. She makes a compelling case that all things considered, it’s better to be a scout.</p><p><em>Support Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>Julia Galef received a BA in statistics from Columbia University. She is currently a writer and host of the&nbsp;<em>Rationally Speaking</em>&nbsp;podcast. She was a co-founder and president of the Center for Applied Rationality. Her new book is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/555240/the-scout-mindset-by-julia-galef/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t</em></a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://juliagalef.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li><li><a href="http://rationallyspeakingpodcast.org/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Rationally Speaking</em>&nbsp;podcast</a></li><li><a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/04/julia-galef-scout-mindset.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>New York</em>&nbsp;magazine profile</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Galef" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/juliagalef" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</