Julia Galef.
The Scout Mindset: why some people see things clearly and others don't.
Piatkus. 2021
rating : 3 : worth reading
review : 26 February 2025
But if we want to get things right more often, we should train ourselves to have a ‘scout’ mindset. Unlike the soldier, a scout’s goal isn’t to defend one side over the other. It’s to go out, survey the territory and come back with as accurate a map as possible. Regardless of what they hope to be the case, above all, the scout wants to know what’s actually true.
In The Scout Mindset, Galef shows that what makes scouts better at getting things right isn’t that they’re smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else. It’s a handful of emotional skills, habits and ways of looking at the world – which anyone can learn. With fascinating examples ranging from how to survive being stranded in the middle of the ocean, to how Jeff Bezos avoids overconfidence, to how super-forecasters outperform CIA operatives, to Reddit threads and modern partisan politics, Galef explores why our brains deceive us and what we can do to change the way we think.
Galef identifies two types of human mindset. First is the soldier mindset: having a pre-defined position to defend, right or wrong. Second is the scout mindset: trying to discover the truth, an accurate map of the world, whatever it may be. The soldier mindset seems to come naturally to us, the scout mindset less so, and requires training and practice to maintain.
Galef argues persuasively that the scout mindset is to be preferred, even in cases where others might suggest that ignorance is bliss, or an over-confident attitude is necessary for success. She provides some guidelines for how to practice a scout mindset, and some anecdotes of successful people who have used this approach (not all these people are held in as high regard today).
In summary, practice wanting to be right, rather than wanting to win.