We need beliefs to navigate the world. They help us ‘know’ which situations create danger and what to do.

This includes we must cook meat before eating it or these dark clouds show bad weather approaches. Unfortunately, our belief system has limitations. As an example, optical illusions make us believe we see a three-dimensional object on a flat sheet of paper. We dislike (hate?!) being wrong as evidenced by the statement “I was wrong, BUT…” And then explain all the reasons what we are not wrong. When we accept that most things rarely have 100% certainty, then we have room to see what may not be true about our belief. Doing this takes a concentrated effort to think critically.

This white paper uses the concepts from four books to present a viewpoint on what it means to believe you are right versus knowing that something is true and correct. I have not attempted to summarize these books, as there is too much to cover. Instead, I have gathered the points that apply to being able to use beliefs positively and avoid the negative.

The authors include a neuroscientist, a journalist and several psychologists. The books are:

• Belief: What it means to believe and why our convictions are so compelling by James E. Alcock.
• Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson.
• On Being Certain: Believing you are right even when you’re not by Robert A. Burton, M.D.
• On Being Wrong: Adventures in the margin of error by Kathryn Schulz.

We must accept that few beliefs have 100% certainty, which means they have some unpredictability. We have the chance to be wrong. This does not make us bad; it makes us human. When we accept some fallibility, we can learn new things.