Challenge Authorities

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Continue reading the book "The Art of Thinking Clearly", by Rolf Dobelli, on authority bias.

It's not uncommon that when a person is under a domineering boss, s/he is more likely to keep opinions to themselves. When the boss gives a request, s/he takes that as an order.

In many cases, the boss doesn't even have to be a domineering one, and people still can take his requests as orders.

I don't know about others, but I used to fall into this bias trap very often, especially at the time when I was struggling with my English communication.

Sometimes, I didn't fully understand what the request was but didn't dare to ask my boss; sometimes, I didn't have enough evidence or confidence to challenge his opinion; sometimes, I didn't know how to state my opinion. The most dangerous moment is that I gave up challenging the opinion because it's from my boss.

It's important to show your opinion, especially in front of an authority. That way, he knows better that your opinion matters, that you care enough about the problem you're solving and that you're not afraid of challenging the authorities.

How to break it?

When you are about to draw a conclusion, think about if you are influenced by any authority. Show your opinion.