Our human brains understand stories much better than raw data. We inherently need to construct narratives to explain the numbers or discrete pieces of information we observe. Those stories help our understanding – but they also restrain it.
The moment you create a narrative, your brain is crystalizing. You’re narrative becomes “true” to you in a way that then closes you off to alternative explanations for the data or even new data that contradicts what you think you know.
So double-check yourself. When you feel like you have an explanation for what you observe, train yourself to ask: “What else could explain this? What data would disprove it?” Your story might be the real one – but it’s always good to have some humility.
The Opportunity Machine 