Hacker News Reader

Comment by hyperpape | Hacker News Reader

I really don't see how being that assertive is compatible with intellectual humility, short of actively lying. There will come a time where people expect you to state something firmly, and you will have to either say "the evidence isn't definitive" or be dishonest.

Edit: of course you can often be assertive about some things while being intellectually humble. But what I mean to say is that the level of assurance that is expected of a CEO is not compatible with that humility.

View on HN

An assertive person could easily say, firmly and with confidence, that "I don't have an opinion on this topic, because the evidence isn't definitive." If you can't do that, then there is something in your scenario that's incompatible with intellectual honesty, but it's not assertiveness -- more likely, it's a feeling of needing to satisfy the expectations of others that you will have an opinion. That feeling is like antimatter for intellectual honesty, but it's totally different from assertiveness.

They can do that, but my observation is that they will loose to some who says: "I know this is better choice and the other choice is shitty". The latter is more likely to be promoted and will be assumed to be more competent - means his opinions will be taken more seriously and will get more interesting tasks.

You can be intellectually humble, assertive AND have a opinion. They are not at all mutually exclusive.

I was talking about situation when available evidence is not conclusive. Confidently stating opinion and then insisting on it makes people look more skilled then those who assertively state that we need to research more. Having and pushing opinion in that situation is opposite of being "intellectually humble", but still good for your career.

Intellectually humble people have disadvantage in competition, although they may make better technical decisions.

That is not the definition that I perceived from the article. Maybe you are thinking of "Intellectually honest"? What I read was basically that Intellectually humble people are non-dogmatic; they will change their opinions and evaluation if and when new facts show their opinion as being incorrect; but they aren't restricted from forming an opinion in the absence of concrete facts, as you seem to be assuming.

Think of a room full of assertive people. They hold their beliefs strongly but they /argue/. In a productive way. That way everything comes out on the table, so a decision can be made with everyone being heard, and even though your view may not be the final decision you get a better outcome.

> [is being assertive] compatible with intellectual humility short of actively lying

I think so. There are a few humble people at the top. Take Lincoln. He wasn't ethically perfect but set the bar pretty damn high for both success and humility.

In your example the only choices are be definitive or lie, but are many choices in between.

Check out Merkel's statement about Trump right after the election. She's supposed to congratulate and welcome the new leader of a close western ally. Truth is she's disgusted, is she forced to lie? I think she did a great job not damaging the relationship with her statement, while still signaling her concerns.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com