Tolstoy Syndrome
Over the years I have given a lot of talks to senior faculty about how graduate and postdoctoral education can be improved. There are always a few members of the old guard who dig deep and come up with the most bizarre reasons why I can't possibly be right, despite lots of evidence.
I have been reading up on various forms of cognitive bias in preparation for a grant proposal. (My inspiration is Nudge - highly recommended). This gem on confirmation bias rings true:
Tolstoy syndrome
The behavior of confirmation bias has sometimes been called "Tolstoy syndrome", in reference to Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), who in 1897 wrote:[12]
"I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabrics of their life".
A related Tolstoy quote is:
"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
I am tempted to make a slide with the second half of the second quote to put up when answering obnoxious questioners next time I give a talk to deans...
-
on Fri, May 23, 05:05PM
I'm reading Kevin's Hogan's book The Science of Influence, and I agree that confirmation bias is incredibly important. It's really just another way of discussing resistance to change, right?
I'd be curious to know if I should read Nudge next?
Keep doing what you're doing. Postdocs and grad students are glad anyone is trying.
-
on Tue, May 27, 11:05PM
Thanks for the encouragement! Look for some interesting new developments on the site in the next month...
I liked Nudge a lot. If you're looking for good books on how to persuade people of your ideas, Cialdini's Influence is also good. If you want a great case study on how hard it is to inject new ideas into a hidebound and conservative institution, Moneyball is fantastic (and I'm not even a baseball fan). Is Horgan's book worth reading?
-
on Wed, May 28, 05:05PM
I liked Hogan's book, but I hadn't started Cialdini's yet.
Hogan's book is more of a manual, it's not written in an academic style at all. It's a fast read, very upbeat. Definitely handy to have around.
Now I'm reading Cialdini and in some ways I like it better. But I'm only a few pages into it. I'm amused by the examples of birds and insects mimicking, etc. but in some ways it's almost too academic. And even though I'm reading the 2007 edition, it feels a bit out of date. When he refers to women college students as 'co-eds', I can't help but cringe a little.
Never heard of Moneyball, I'll have to look that one up.
