Paging Dr. Wrong…Dr. Wrong….Paging Dr. Wrong
It is not lost on me that most of our books this semester has been about being wrong, or solving a problem or a “how to” book. Pursuing a doctorate (imposter syndrome not withstanding) takes a certain level of confidence and belief in ourselves that we have something the world needs. What if we are wrong? What if we get to the end of our second year and go…what was I thinking? I would imagine, a semester of this sort of reading has a purpose; it brings us to ourselves and is hopefully helping us to listen to our shy souls as Parker Palmer notes in his book A Hidden Wholeness. It also equips us to slow down a bit, though the pace is swift, and listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, who is at work in this world.
Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A theory of Human misunderstanding by Bobby Duffy, is a wakeup call to this modern age where “’Fake News’ was named Word of the Year in 2017 by at least one dictionary publisher”.[1] I have had my own gut-check this year with the way our media influences our children, my 10 year old loves You tube, and most of the time I am in the room with him while he watches these obnoxious Gamer youtubers scream and over-over react to whatever video game they are watching. However, there is only so much I can take and send him to a different TV, thinking we had restrictions on. We didn’t. I am appalled at what my child has seen, and the shame spiral it has sent him down thinking he’s a bad kid. The world found him, he didn’t go looking for it, he just knows it was not good and therefore it makes him a bad kid. How heartbreaking is that. I remember watching the Cosby Show and Different World and Cheers and knowing I had to wait for the shows, they were not just at my fingertips. Imagine this world as a 10-year-old, any information you want or maybe don’t want is right there in less than a minute. We are living in one great big wrong!
How do we combat that? Many times, I walk into my hospice patients homes or facility room and they have been watching news for hours sometimes days, because what else is there, they have lost all hope in humanity and the world is in decay. Now in some ways this is helpful as they are in the process of letting go of this world, but what is not helpful is that they are hopeless. They no longer are out in the world witnessing beauty and simple acts of kindness that are what matters in this world…the news does not show these simple acts. It’s ‘fake news’ in that we are only being told part of the story of life on this earth. “Now we need to imagine ourselves as beacon towers of information, standing tall in the integrity of what we say, pulsing out congruent messages everywhere”.[2] Character and integrity, what if we are called in our Doctorate work to be these beacon towers of information with integrity? Perhaps, this breaking us down into understanding how long our shoreline of ignorance really is, is not to put us in our place, or create more imposter syndrome symptoms, what if it’s to open us up to greater possibilities and risk? We need to know that standing in the gap with our projects takes risk, and we better be darn mindful of it!
I don’t call us out to shake our faith in our God or our calling, as Kathryn Schulz says in her book Being Wrong, she “introduces us to a scenario devised by William James to help us think about the merits of certainty. What he means is that shaky ground should not always deter us from unshakeable faith”[3]. Unshakeable Faith, yes.
Now what? Duffy not only creates a little bit of shakiness in our world views, but he also offers us a solution on pages 232-240 called “Ten ideas for how we can form more accurate views of the world”. I encourage you to look at these when you can, I find them to be very helpful. The very first rule is “Things are not as bad as we think- and most things are getting better” [4] . Even as an optimist, this one is a hard one for me to truly believe, but it yields into the concept of Hope that I spoke of earlier…it’s the little acts of kindness and beauty that we take time to notice that bring us hope. In other word’s we need to reframe our view. “The benefits of a benevolent view, is to start from the assumption that people are trying to do good things (or at least, that they are not actively trying to pester you).”[5] If we can take a benevolent view with others and with problems in the world…Don’t you think we should start with ourselves? I am beginning to think, with some sarcasm, and some truth, that when this doctorate work is all over, I’m okay with being Dr. Wrong!
[1] Duffy, Bobby. Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2019. Pg 13
[2] Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World. San Francisco, CA. Berrett-Koehler Publisher, Inc, 2006. Pg. 57.
[3] Schulz, Kathryn. Being Wrong: Adventure in the Margin of Error. New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers, 2010. Pg 165.
[4] Duffy, Bobby. Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2019. Pg. 232.
[5] Wedell-Wedellsborg, Thomas. What’s your Problem? To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2020. Pg. 122.
About the Author
Jana Dluehosh
Jana serves as a Spiritual Care Supervisor for Signature Hospice in Portland, OR. She chairs the corporate Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging committee as well as presents and consults with chronically ill patients on addressing Quality of Life versus and alongside Medical treatment. She has trained as a World Religions and Enneagram Spiritual Director through an Anam Cara apprenticeship through the Sacred Art of Living center in Bend, OR. Jana utilizes a Celtic Spirituality approach toward life as a way to find common ground with diverse populations and faith traditions. She has mentored nursing students for several years at the University of Portland in a class called Theological Perspectives on Suffering and Death, and has taught in the Graduate Counseling program at Portland Seminary in the Trauma Certificate program on Grief.9 responses to “Paging Dr. Wrong…Dr. Wrong….Paging Dr. Wrong”
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Oh, Jana! So well written.
Your question…”Perhaps, this breaking us down into understanding how long our shoreline of ignorance really is, is not to put us in our place, or create more imposter syndrome symptoms, what if it’s to open us up to greater possibilities and risk? ” brings my heart to its knees! Saying yes to all God is calling each of us to through this doctoral journey does require risk. So many virtues come to play here… faith, trust, love, humility, etc… and above all, our need for the Holy Spirit to guide us since we often are wrong… What new awareness around your own journey of risk-taking are you gaining at this point in this doctoral journey?
Thank you Esther! I feel sometimes just the act of putting our own thoughts and feelings down in these blogs, sometimes hoping that you understood the book is risky!! I feel this doctorate is flexing my muscle on new beliefs I have and to strongly declare my beliefs even if they are not the popular beliefs. I appear to be vulnerable with others, but really, I am smart on how I choose to be vulnerable, most don’t really know what is deep deep down my truth. My husband calls me an Onion, the more you get to know me the more layers there are, especially for him. I think that the risk taking I am taking on this journey is that it’s exposing my own feelings of inadequacies around being “smart enough” especially in my writing. I can get up and speak to huge crowds and gain trust easily with others…I’m good at it, but writing in a way that reflects what I know is an area of risk for me that I am encountering in this doctorate work. Thanks for asking Esther.
Jana, first of all, me too. I mean, your child is not the only one with a mother who accidentally let him see things no 10 year old should see on the internet.
Long ago we stopped trying to monitor everything my boys saw on the internet because we couldn’t keep up with the many ways around restrictions. We decided what we could do was to talk to them about it – as much as possible and then trust that they would have some sort of discernment around what they were seeing. This isn’t to say we had no restrictions – just that we realized there is no way to keep up with the fast changing pace of technology.
That said, about a year ago I found out that my ten year old had been sneaking her ipad into her room at night and texting with a friend. She didn’t have text but had downloaded other apps to be able to do so…including Snapchat! What!?!? Yep. I was PISSED.
So she no longer has an ipad.
So, yeah, me too.
And, I loved this quote from you: “We need to know that standing in the gap with our projects takes risk, and we better be darn mindful of it!” You are right. Taking on this doctoral work takes risk. Trying to create these projects takes risk. Standing in the gap takes risk. And yes, we should always be mindful of the assumptions we make, the decisions before us, the risk we are taking on, and the faithfulness of the One who calls us to this work.
Ms. Jana, thank you for your posting. I struggle a lot with that imposter syndrome – somtimes, I even think of leaving this program. I even felt that I am not ready to do all this work or research. It is when Dr. Clark mentioned that the intention of all this is to push us out of our comfort zone that makes me stay and just see what might come out of it. Maybe, I will breakthrough that threshold barrier and get that “ha-ha moment.” Who knows, maybe.
Enjoyed your post Jana! I’m with you, I think our reading lists is very strategic in bringing humility to us all as we learn. I do love the emphasis on “who we are”, not just what we know in our reading. I’m realizing the world probably needs more people who are courageous, kind, active listeners, and wise over certain and absolute in our perspectives. The world needs Christs love way more than information right now.
As I’ve grown older I have really begun to understand the value of listening to your inner self for guidance. Perhaps a combination of year lived and mistakes made that make that inner voice a little easier to listen to. I appreciate the idea of being a beacon of truth. When my kids forward me a TikTok or tell me something they heard at school, I like to challenge them about where else they have been able to confirm what they have seen and heard. Have they been able to verify it elsewhere? Great post!
Hi Jana! Thank you for your post! It is so insightful!
I really appreciated your statement at the end of your article, and I completely agree with you. It’s important that we come to terms with the mistakes we make, as long as we didn’t intend to make them or act with malice. Feeling wrong is an essential part of being human. I also noticed how Duffy’s writing inspired you to suggest that we reframe our perspective.
Hi Jana,
This was a fun read. Your wrote, “It also equips us to slow down a bit, though the pace is swift, and listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, who is at work in this world.”
Amen.
I went back to Duffy’s top 10 like you recommended and relanded on #8 and #9, Facts Matter and So does the Story.
In our S2 analysis, (as in immigration), we need both to understand the “truth.” It is so easy to get swept away in all the political “hype.”
When I get overwhelmed if fall back to the bible. “Deuteronomy 10:18, He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”
I think this helps keep me centered on what HE wants me to do.
Shalom…Russ
Hey Jana, thanks again for your insightful post. I have an easy question for you based upon your statement, “If we can take a benevolent view with others and with problems in the world…” What is an area of life that is challenging for you to take a benevolent view with others or with a problem in the world?