Some of the better investment books have nothing to do directly with investing. The book Think Again: The Power of Knowing What you Don't Know by Grant Adams is a perfect example. The focus is on how to keep an open mind and accept alternative points of view. We have to unlearn what is wrong and learn how to accept alternative views and ideas. If all we do is reinforce or original thinking, we are not really thinking. The book focuses on the idea that we have to think like scientists filled with skepticism and constantly focused on the evidence to disprove our beliefs. If you are not questioning long held assumptions, you really are not effectively thinking. Our experience and expertise are helpful but they should not dampen our questioning mind.
Thinkers or arguers can be classified as preachers (no proof required), politicians (no training required), prosecutors (too much training required), or scientists (experiments required). Smart people can fail because they do not question; they only assert or look for confirmation to their logic. There is nothing wrong with being wrong, if you learn from the experience what is right.
Most investing is learning to accept being wrong, not holding a single point of view, and working to discover what is not known. It is forcing yourself to be the ultimate scientist. Grant presents this open learning in an accessible way that engages readers.
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