Thinking humbly and curiously | Top 10

+ Middle East ground invasions; internet community governance US Edition - Today's top story: Being humble about what you know is just one part of what makes you a good thinker [View in browser]( US Edition | 29 October 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Happy Sunday − and welcome to the best of The Conversation. Here are a few of our recently published stories: - [Violent and disturbing war images from the Mideast can stir deep emotions − how to protect yourself and your kids from overexposure]( - [Why Elon Musk is obsessed with casting X as the most ‘authentic’ social media platform]( Growing up, I relished learning new things − and then showing off what I had learned. It can be easy to become arrogant about the knowledge we acquire, to a point that we dismiss what others know, particularly when it conflicts with what’s in our own heads. Intellectual humility helps overcome this tendency. In one of our reader favorites from last week, [Wake Forest psychologist Eranda Jayawickreme defines it this way:]( “Being intellectually humble means being open to the possibility you could be wrong about your beliefs.” But it takes more than that to be a good thinker, he writes. You need to want to seek out the truth, be open-minded to information you may disagree with and be willing to try to figure it all out, among other things. While reading his article, I thought about the many items in the news about which people vehemently disagree, [most notably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict](, which we continued to cover last week. I’m not sure what will help resolve issues as deeply felt and debated as that one, but I believe one place we can all start is with intellectual humility – acknowledging our own possible ignorance – along with an “eagerness to learn, curiosity about the world and a commitment to getting it right,” as Jayawickreme put it. His was the latest story in an ongoing series that senior science and tech editor Maggie Villiger has spearheaded on the [theme of intellectual humility](. The series explores cognitive biases, Socrates’ “know nothing” wisdom, embracing the humility of uncertainty and many other related concepts. Bryan Keogh Managing Editor Readers' picks Good thinking is built from many ingredients. skynesher/E+ via Getty Images [Being humble about what you know is just one part of what makes you a good thinker]( Eranda Jayawickreme, Wake Forest University Being open to the possibility you could be wrong about your beliefs is an important part of learning about the world. But this trait is not enough on its own. - [A layered lake is a little like Earth’s early oceans − and lets researchers explore how oxygen built up in our atmosphere billions of years ago]( Elizabeth Swanner, Iowa State University An unusual lake with distinct layers of low-oxygen and high-iron water lets researchers investigate conditions like those in the early Earth’s oceans. - [New House Speaker Mike Johnson leads a GOP majority weakened by decades of declining party authority]( Matthew Green, Catholic University of America The problems faced by the House GOP in choosing a new speaker aren’t particular to Republicans. They’re a reflection of larger problems that have afflicted both parties in Congress. - [Antisemitism has moved from the right to the left in the US − and falls back on long-standing stereotypes]( Arie Perliger, UMass Lowell Antisemitism in the US is growing – and that growth appears to be related to the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It also reflects a different political ideology than in the past. - [The Israel-Hamas war deepens the struggle between US and Iran for influence in the Middle East]( John Ciorciari, University of Michigan Iran’s long-term strategy includes eradicating Israel and driving a wedge between Israel and its regional neighbors. So far, the war seems to be accomplishing that goal. Editors' picks Social media is often used during times of conflict to spread fake news. Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images [How to deal with visual misinformation circulating in the Israel-Hamas war and other conflicts]( Paul Morrow, University of Dayton A human rights scholar explains how social media users can take charge of what content comes into their feed and reduce the risk of receiving misinformation. - [Let the community work it out: Throwback to early internet days could fix social media’s crisis of legitimacy]( Ethan Zuckerman, UMass Amherst; Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci, UMass Amherst In the days of online bulletin board systems, community members decided what was acceptable. Reviving that approach to content moderation offers Big Tech a path to legitimacy as public spaces. - [Israeli invasion of Gaza likely to resemble past difficult battles in Iraq and Syria]( Javed Ali, University of Michigan Hamas and the international community expect Israel to invade the Gaza Strip. The battle will probably be more like recent Middle Eastern combat than Israel’s past fights with Palestinians. - [Delivering aid during war is tricky − here’s what to know about what Gaza relief operations may face]( Topher L. McDougal, University of San Diego The politics of delivering aid in war zones are messy, the ethics fraught and the logistics daunting. But getting everything right is essential − and in this instance could save many Gazans’ lives. - [I studied 1 million home sales in metro Atlanta and found that Black families are being squeezed out of homeownership by corporate investors]( Brian Y. An, Georgia Institute of Technology Black would-be homeowners pay the price when big investors buy up the neighborhood. News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. Questions this week on Meta, cold medicine and lying. Like this newsletter? 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