Viewing Problems from All Angles
A Case Study in Strategic Empathy from Inside the CIA
The CIA's "Red Team" during the Cold War exemplified strategic empathy by encouraging high-ranking officers to role-play adversaries, fostering humility and curiosity to enhance understanding and inform leadership decisions through an unorthodox analysis of emotions and perspectives.
Three Common Cognitive Pitfalls in Decision-Making
In a video, international poker champion Liv Boeree outlines three common decision-making pitfalls—confirmation bias, status quo bias, and the sunk cost fallacy—and offers strategies to counteract them for improved reasoning and outcomes.
Analyze Present-Day Problems with Historical Methods
To navigate workplace challenges effectively, adopt a historian's approach by recognizing familiar patterns, critically assessing diverse perspectives, and viewing issues within a broader temporal context to maintain perspective and avoid being swayed by immediate rhetoric.
Are You Using the Lessons of European History to Predict Asia’s Future?
Cultural assumptions, often perceived as common sense, can lead to misunderstandings in international relations; thus, David Kang emphasizes the importance of questioning these biases, particularly Eurocentrism, and integrating local knowledge to better understand Asia's diverse perspectives and trends.
How To Factor in Your Blind Spots for Ethical Decision Making
Bazerman's bounded ethicality highlights how ordinary psychological processes can lead good people to unknowingly engage in unethical behavior, as illustrated by the Challenger tragedy, emphasizing the need for heightened awareness, firm ethical grounding, and thorough consideration of data omissions in decision-making.
This class delves into the art of strategic empathy, emphasizing the importance of understanding opposing viewpoints to enhance decision-making and problem-solving. Instructors like Amaryllis Fox and Liv Boeree guide participants through the practice of “Red Teaming,” which involves role-playing adversaries to gain insight into their emotions and motivations. By temporarily suspending personal beliefs and embracing humility, learners can better predict adversarial moves and make informed decisions. Additionally, the course addresses cognitive biases—such as confirmation bias and the sunk cost fallacy—that can cloud judgment, encouraging students to seek diverse perspectives and challenge their assumptions.
Further enriching the curriculum, experts like Timothy Snyder and David Kang explore the significance of historical context and cultural awareness in navigating complex issues. Snyder teaches how to maintain perspective amid sensational news cycles, while Kang highlights the pitfalls of Eurocentrism in understanding global dynamics. Meanwhile, Max Bazerman’s insights into bounded ethicality reveal how ordinary psychological processes can lead to unethical decisions, as illustrated by the NASA Challenger tragedy. Collectively, these lessons underscore the necessity of empathy, critical thinking, and ethical awareness in today’s interconnected world, equipping students with the tools to navigate challenges effectively.