Folium: Make More Rational Decisions by Using a Foreign Language via Lifehacker
Creative Commons Media via Flickr User jepoirrier
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Folium: Make More Rational Decisions by Using a Foreign Language via Lifehacker
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In accordance with the great Wikipedia, “bias” is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of (possibly equally valid) alternatives. Anything biased generally is one-sided, and therefore lacks a neutral point of view.
There is a strong argument that we are naturally biased, reaching our conclusions by framing our perceptions through the sum of our experiences, at the expense of entertaining other valid points of view. It’s not necessarily positive or negative, rather it just is, and happens in millions of moments throughout our lives.
But what if there was a way to take control of our subconscious thoughts, and rein in our biases in order to make room for multiple viewpoints? The ability to put our own thoughts in perspective could become an asset in perceiving the viewpoints of others. What business wouldn’t want to get “inside the heads” of their customers, or even better, their competitors.
Lifehacker, via Psychological Science, proposes a bold solution. If you have spent your entire life looking through the lens of the English language, switch languages in order to switch your point of view!
“When people make decisions in a foreign language, their decisions tend to be less rooted in emotional reactions. Interestingly, speaking a foreign language might come especially in handy when people find themselves having to make a high-stakes decision – say about savings or investments.” – Psychology Today via Lifehacker.
Research shows that thinking about a certain problem in multiple languages makes it easier to approach the problem from multiple directions. And, it seems to make sense. Cultures use languages to express the working world through their terms, so it’s only logical that each language permits a new cultural viewpoint.
It would seem that no matter what, multilingualism is a greater benefit than ever before. The ability to perceive problems from multiple viewpoints simultaneously will become an asset that no organization will want to be without.
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