When young Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, he launched a major change in how and when we listen to music. Edison’s light bulb changed our world by lighting the nights. But Edison’s high IQ didn’t prevent him from making a bad decision. Thomas Edison could not imagine a world where AC (alternating current) would be the rule. So he rejected AC as a means of powering both his light bulb and future machines. His choice opened the door for Nikola Tesla (his star employee) to spread the use of electric power across the world. Decades after AC proved itself the world’s best commercial current, Edison kept arguing that his DC idea was better!
Zachary Shore uses this story to capture the major insight in his book, “Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions” (New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2008). Edison fell into a cognitive trap — a rigid mind-set that can block smart people from seeing the importance of new facts — and thus, blocks the addressing of new circumstances.
Coeditors Herb Miller, Lyle E. Schaller and Cynthia Woolever expand on this thought in the October, 2011 (Volume 19, Number 1) “The Parish Paper” as they apply “cognitive traps” to local congregations.
I invite you to check out the article, not so much for church things, but for what you can learn about the other aspects of life where in “cognitive traps” limit our thinking.
Here is the link. I can also provide you with a hard copy if you ask. http://web.nebraskasynod.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/October2011.pdf
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