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Independent Thinking: Question What You Inherited

Most opinions arrive secondhand. You inherit them from a parent, a professor, a group chat, or an algorithm, and then defend them like you arrived at them yourself. Independent thinking starts with noticing the gap between a belief you chose and one you just never questioned.

This section is about building the habit of checking your own thinking before you repeat it. That includes media literacy, the discomfort of changing your mind in public, and the specific skill of disagreeing with a group you belong to without leaving it.

We also write about the social cost of this habit. Independent thinkers aren't always popular in the room. We cover what that costs, and why it's still worth paying.

Related reading: Personal Freedom and Finding Your Voice, or head back to the homepage for the full picture.

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