"We all must be
scientists at heart or be victims of forces that we don't understand."
Laurence Gonzales, Everyday Survival
In the first entry of this blog I wrote that my goal was to provide information grounded "(when possible) in science." I've been wanting to clarify what I mean by that because, unfortunately, there is not yet a lot of "scientific" support for the Enneagram.
We don't know why there are these nine distinct personality types or what causes them, we only know from empirical observation that there are. There are opinions on what causes Enneatype, of course, but they tend to be non-falsifiable hypotheses at best. In other words they are guesses.
In addition, many who are drawn to the Enneagram tend to be a bit on the credulous side, and a little too open to pseudoscience and magical thinking. I want to draw a clear distinction between that mindset and what this blog is about. So until real scientific data comes in that supports (or disproves) the Enneagram, the least we can do is think scientifically. Therefore, I want to talk a little about the scientific method and what it means to think scientifically.
Now, it's true that
there really is no single "scientific method;" there are in fact numerous
approaches to scientific inquiry. It's equally true that the practice of
science can be messy, flawed, and imperfect. However, as Albert Einstein said, the scientific method is
really just formalized everyday thinking, and some variation of this simple
process lies at the heart of all rational thought.
Unfortunately, it is
human nature to make judgments based on emotion, intuition, prejudice,
supposition and to be influenced by faulty memory, bias, and cognitive dissonance. The four-step scientific method
described below helps us overcome these obstacles and ensure that what we believe
to be true really is true.
Step One: Observe
a phenomenon or series of phenomena.
This is rather
self-explanatory; we notice an event or series of events and become curious
about why or how they occur.
Step Two: Form a
hypothesis.
It is human nature
to create stories to explain our world. Forming a hypothesis is merely crafting a simple
story that explains a cause-and-effect relationship.
We do the first two steps of the scientific method naturally and intuitively, but
we run into trouble when we stop here; when we create a simple story and accept
that story without external validation. This tendency is the root of
all of our prejudices, preconceptions, misconceptions, and other errors in
thinking: we form a hypothesis based on a limited set of data points and
neglect to challenge our ideas for accuracy.
Step Three: Test
the hypothesis.
Testing the hypothesis
is the lynchpin of the scientific method and good critical thinking. We must be
careful when testing our hypothesis not to fall victim to a confirmation
bias
(seeking evidence that supports our hypothesis). Instead, we must seek to falsify our hypothesis; that is, we must
attempt to prove it wrong rather than prove it right. Good science conducts
controlled studies with changing variables in order to precisely isolate cause
and effect. We need to do the same with our hypothesis and vigorously test it
from a variety of perspectives. Only then can we go on to step four.
Step Four: Draw a
provisional conclusion.
If all reasonable tests and attempts to disprove our hypothesis fail to do so, we can provisionally draw a conclusion. "Provisionally" is the key word here; we should hold our conclusions lightly because we never know when new data will come in that proves them wrong. Einstein once said that "a thousand tests can't prove me right, but one test can prove me wrong."
It cannot be overstated how critical this process is to clear thinking, accurate self-awareness, and effective decision-making. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that applying the scientific method in everyday life will make us emotionless, hyper-logical, true-life versions of "Star Trek's" Mr. Spock, lacking in creativity and passion. The truth is, however, that the scientific method is a remarkably creative activity, helping us be present to the world as it is rather than being deluded by false ideas and prejudices.
I encourage you to apply that mindset to anything you read here.
Mario Sikora
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