I befriended one of the founders of CFAR a few years ago when visiting NYC, before she moved to Berkeley and founded CFAR. She genuinely practices what she prea

I befriended one of the founders of CFAR a few years ago when visiting NYC, before she moved to Berkeley and founded CFAR. She genuinely practices what she preaches, and was doing so long before CFAR. It's interestingly disarming to meet someone who is so smart, but has no fear of seeming dumb by asking lots of questions (including seemingly silly ones). It has stuck with me for years, in fact, and it's been one of my personal goals ever since to stop being such a damned know-it-all (mostly to myself) and ask more questions, and more genuinely engage in conversation even when I think I'm smarter and know more than the people I'm talking to. I'm sure their approach to rationality would have a different effect for different people, and the article covers the different ways people step out of the comfort zones. But, my personal weakness, one that slows my own personal growth and development and impacts my productivity and general happiness more than most, is the "I am smart" armor that I built up as a kid (because I wasn't all that good at other stuff, being smart was the identity I embraced). It has all sorts of negative consequences. I don't ask questions when I should, for fear of looking like I'm not smart and on top of everything. When complex things are hard, it is more frustrating than it needs to be, because most of the time I expect thinky things to not be hard (or at least, when in school and comparing my own performance vs. effort to others in the class, nothing was hard). A lot of it boils down to that "I am smart" belief, rather than taking an approach that accepts that being smart is a process and not a permanent condition. Anyway, if hanging out casually for a couple of weeks with someone practicing this stuff has had a years-long and mostly positive effect on me, I would guess a formal program would be awesome.