Soldiers and Scouts with Julia Galef

PodcastJune 27, 2022
The image features a cartoon-like drawing with an ambiguous figure in the center that can be seen as both a duck and a rabbit, depicted in orange against a purple background. On the left side of the image, a stick figure labeled "SOLDIER" with arms crossed says, "I KNOW IT'S A DUCK!" On the right, another stick figure labeled "SCOUT" holds their chin while saying, "IT'S COMPLICATED." The scene visually highlights the concept of perception and differing perspectives.
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I call it soldier mindset because it's very much like being a soldier on a battlefield, trying to defend the fortress of your beliefs against any evidence that could threaten to weaken or undermine it. This is evident even in the way we talk about argument, and reasoning, and beliefs. We talk about things like shooting down other ideas or poking holes or finding weak points in arguments. And we talk about supporting, or buttressing, or strengthening our arguments with evidence.

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Intro

In this episode of the podcast, Brooke chats with Julia Galef - co-founder of the Center for Applied Rationality and host of the podcast 'Rationally Speaking'. They discuss the topic or Julia's book, 'The Scout Mindset' which looks at the underlying motivations that guide our beliefs and behaviors. Some of the things covered include…

  • Scout versus soldier mindset - how they differ and why we rely on both, depending on the situation.
  • The downsides of soldier mindset and why our tendency to defend our beliefs no matter what can get us into trouble.
  • The benefits of adopting an evidence-based mindset and being open to things that challenge our beliefs, aka 'drawing the map in pencil'.
  • Practical ways we can embrace a scout mindset in our personal and professional lives.

About the Guest

The image shows a smiling woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair. She is wearing earrings shaped like leaves and a blue top. The background is plain white, and she appears to be posing for a professional headshot, looking directly at the camera with a warm, friendly expression.

Julia Galef

Julia Galef is a the co-founder and president of the Center for Applied Rationality and host of the podcast Rationally Speaking. Her work on rationality has been featured in publications such as Scientific American, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and TED. Julia is also an acclaimed YouTuber and writer - The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Other's Don't is her first book.

About the Interviewer

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Dr. Brooke Struck

Dr. Brooke Struck is the Research Director at The Decision Lab. He is an internationally recognized voice in applied behavioural science, representing TDL’s work in outlets such as Forbes, Vox, Huffington Post and Bloomberg, as well as Canadian venues such as the Globe & Mail, CBC and Global Media. Dr. Struck hosts TDL’s podcast “The Decision Corner” and speaks regularly to practicing professionals in industries from finance to health & wellbeing to tech & AI.

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