Tuesday, August 23, 2011

On Being Wrong

This may be hard to believe, but my wife and I have occasional disagreements. When these situations present themselves, I have the unique advantage of always being right.

What?
Okay, fine. I may not always seem right, but I am absolutely convinced that I am right and I am incredibly persuasive about that fact. What I find strange is that my wife somehow resists my rhetorical prowess and questions my arguments. It's almost as though she trusts her instincts, perspectives and judgments more than mine. I found this quite difficult to comprehend until a friend forwarded me the TED talk below.
Kathryn Schulz calls herself a "wrongologist" and suggests that there's a pretty thin line between feeling right and feeling wrong. That's something to keep in mind the next time you're having an animated discussion with your significant other. Think about how absolutely certain you are. Consider how only one explanation could possibly make sense. Guess what? That's exactly what your spouse feels like.
This obviously explains why my wife mistakenly believes me to be incorrect sometimes. I had her sit down and watch Ms. Schulz's presentation, but she has not yet seen the error of her ways. I will keep you posted.
Regardless, I would argue that a great many tensions (between individuals, between churches, between ethnic groups, between nation states) could be lessened if people could somehow arrive at the hard-fought realization that they might be wrong.
And since I'm the one making the argument, I would advise you take it seriously.
- Cliff (aka The Husband)


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