WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING WRONG???

Introduction

One of my personal strengths and/or weaknesses is that I am okay with being wrong when proven wrong.  I have the ability to learn, adjust and move on.  Kathryn Schulz’s TEDx presentation, “On being Wrong”, discusses the answers for three points that she makes about the problem with people thinking that they are right:

●       Why do we get stuck in the mode of being right?

●       Why is this a problem?

●       Stepping outside of the feeling of being right.

During Kathryn Schulz’s presentation, she captures the audience’s attention with a story about her experience in 1995 when she was wrong about a sign that she saw multiple times while traveling the backroads from Providence, RI to Portland, Oregon (TEDx Talks, 2011).

She tells how she asked her friend about the meaning behind the Chinese sign that they kept seeing on their journey (TEDx Talks, 2011).

She speaks of how embarrassed she was when her friend told her that the sign was not a Chinese sign, that it was the symbol for a picnic area.  Ms. Schulz realized at that point, that she should not be concerned with the fact that she was wrong about the meaning of the sign.  At this point, she started to think about being wrong and why people are so concerned with being wrong and why there is such an attempt to be right all of the time (TEDx Talks, 2011).  Ms. Schulz’s experience connected with my misinterpretation of a sign that I saw multiple times driving on Interstate 5 from San Diego to Los Angeles 10 years ago.

When I referred to the sign as being a weird pedestrian crossing sign, my Aunt Peggy, who is from San Diego, told me that the sign was for undocumented immigrants crossing the freeway.  I was shocked and felt dumb for not realizing that the picture was a Mexican family.  I know now that only people from California would know this picture because it is unique to California.  Ms. Schulz's use of this story created imagery and connected with my personal experiences of being wrong and misidentifying a sign.  Dr. Vrooman states in his book, “the best presenters have always been storytellers” (Vrooman, S. 2015, pg 166).

Delivery:  Why Do We Get Stuck?

            Ms. Schulz speaks of how we get stuck as experts In this TEDx Talk.  She effectively used questioning and storytelling to keep the audience engaged and entertained throughout the 17-minute presentation.  She states that we think that we are stuck in the feeling of being right in the present (TEDx Talks, 2011).  With that being stated, we will defend our attempt to be right and that we only realize our wrongness after the act.  Usual aids of the Roadrunner and Coyote cartoon as an example of our blindness to being right in the moment were effectively used to reinforce concepts.  In the story, the Roadrunner knows that it can fly and will run off of the cliff knowing that Wile E. Coyote will follow him.  That in the moment, the Wile E. Coyote is focused on being right in his attempt to catch the roadrunner that he doesn’t realize that he is wrong until after he has run off of the cliff.  The use of humor throughout the presentation kept the audience engaged and entertained.  Throughout the delivery of the presentation, Schulz’s energy was contiguous and her reading of the room allowed for her to interpret the audience’s body language and pull individuals into the presentation with questioning strategies.

The cartoon example and the road effectively reinforced the idea that society’s error blindness and how our attempt to be right has created a situation where we trust our internal sense of being right too often (TEDx Talks, 2011). Ms. Schultz speaks of how this systematic thought process is created in grade school when we receive bad grades as support for society’s attempt of being right. Students that failed to achieve academically were seen as being lazy, irresponsible, and dimwits (TEDx Talks, 2011).

Visual Aids

          Cartoon examples and road signs effectively reinforced the idea that society’s error blindness and how our attempt to be right has created a situation where we trust our internal sense of being right too often (TEDx Talks, 2011).

Argument- Why is it a Problem?             

In the presentation the speaker talks of how society’s fear of being wrong is the problem that prevents creativity from occurring (TEDx Talks, 2011).  The presence of the speaker gave the audience a feeling of what risk taking and the elimination of trying to be right can do for the expansion of creativity and intellectual growth.  In my experience as a high school administrator, I see what she speaks of in how schools assess what their students don’t know instead of what they do know.  Ms. Schultz speaks of how this systematic thought process of being right is created in grade school when we receive bad grades as support for society’s attempt of being right as support for her argument.  

Support:  What Can We Do to Step Outside the Feeling of Being Wrong?

          Ms. Schultz speaks of the steps that can be taken to eliminate this feeling of needing to be wrong.  A narrative and humor is well delivered to pull the audience into her belief that always trying to be right is bad.  Starting with student-centered instructional methods being used in schools that focus on what students know, there needs to be a change in the assumptions of people that generate, present, and assess what is right or wrong.  Schulz speaks of these groups of people created in the school system as falling under the assumption subsections of ignorant, idiots, or evil (TEDx Talks, 2011).  The assumption mindset of people that are right is that ignorant people do not have the information and once they are provided the correct information will fall in line with the thought process (TEDx Talks, 2011).  Secondly, people that are provided the information and still do not understand the rightfulness, are seen as idiots.  Thirdly, any person that has provided the correct information, demonstrated an understanding of it, and still disagrees is seen as evil (TEDx Talks, 2011)!

Organization:

          Schultz's use of extemporaneous speaking throughout the presentation made the information real and entertaining for the audience.  She effectively used connectives to pull the audience back into the conversation and to maintain interest in the topic.  Vrooman (2015) states, “Your organization strategy has to be based on the need to gain back the attention of the wanders, not to handhold people who are hanging on to every word” (pg. 83).  The use of transitions:  stories, visual aids, and cold calling, kept the audience engaged and entertained.  Connections to real-world experiences were made throughout the presentation to ensure that concept resonated with the audience.

Conclusion:

          Kathryn Schulz effectively ties the need for accepting being wrong to conclude her presentation.  She states that people need to embrace the importance of being wrong in their lives to improve their story (TEDx Talks, 2011).  She states that we need to adapt to being wrong to create new ideas and create a better story to allow for a rediscovery of the wonders of the world (TEDx Talks, 2011).  And only then, can we truly grow in our understanding of the world!!  The presentation ended with the clincher statement about the purpose of the whole presentation, “Wow, I don’t know, Maybe I am wrong!” (TEDx Talks, 2011).

References:

Sudderth, A. (2024).  What is Student Centered Instruction Learning and Why is it Important?

  XQ Superschool.  What Is Student Centered Learning and Why Is It Important? - XQ

xqsuperschool.org)

TEDxTalks. (2011, March). On Being Wrong. Kathryn Schulz. (Video) TED  Kathryn Schulz: On

being wrong | TED Talk

Vrooman, S.S. (2015).  The zombie guide to public speaking. 2nd “dead”ition, re-animated.

            Createspace.