Superficiality renders us stupid
Start thinking deeper. Or others will steer your thoughts for their benefit (not yours)
No one likes to think they’re stupid. And maybe they aren’t.
But just as booze or sleep deprivation can fog the mind, there’s another, less noticeable culprit: superficiality.
Unlike a hangover, you don’t feel it creeping in. It doesn’t slur your speech—it rewires your brain. Bit by bit, it reshapes how you think, how you judge, how you react. And most don’t even notice.
We live in a world designed to flatten thought. Algorithms polarize. Headlines bait. Politicians divide. The result? Knee-jerk opinions, tribal outrage, and binary brains.
Think fast. Pick a side. Stay mad. That’s the cloud layer we constantly live in.
Over time, that constant drip of superficiality conditions us so we stop thinking below a thin surface level.
Real thinking isn’t binary. It’s layered. And we can think deeper one step at a time. Here’s what the progression looks like.
Layer 1: Beyond Binary Thinking
At this level, you reject the false simplicity of “good vs. bad” or “us vs. them.”
You notice when a choice is being framed as only two options.
You deliberately ask: “What’s missing? What’s the nuance?”
This requires resisting the emotional hooks of outrage or tribal identity.
Layer 2: Thinking Probabilistically
Here you begin applying Annie Duke’s “Thinking in Bets” mindset:
Decisions are made under uncertainty, not certainty.
You frame choices in terms of probabilities (“70% likely this will happen”) rather than absolutes.
You actively update beliefs as new information comes in.
You treat decisions as bets on the future, not final judgments carved in stone.
Layer 3: Contextual Awareness
Beyond probabilities, you learn to place information in a broader context:
Recognize incentives (media profits from outrage; politicians profit from polarization).
Ask not just “What is being said?” but “Why is this being said now, and who benefits?”
This is where you begin to resist manipulation by understanding systemic forces.
Layer 4: Integrative Thinking
At this depth, you actively hold contradictory perspectives in mind, à la F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “first-rate intelligence” or Charlie Munger’s emphasis on using multiple mental models.
Instead of collapsing complexity, you expand it.
You can say: “This argument is partly true and partly false, depending on the frame of reference.”
You begin constructing richer, multi-layered mental models of reality.
Layer 5: Reflective Skepticism
Here you build a self-checking mechanism against your own biases:
Constantly test your assumptions.
Ask: “What would prove me wrong?”
Develop intellectual humility: you see your conclusions as provisional, not permanent.
Layer 6: Deep Synthesis
This is the furthest point from superficiality.
You integrate multiple domains of knowledge, probabilities, contexts, and perspectives into coherent understanding.
You don’t just react—you generate new insights.
It’s a practice of wisdom, not just knowledge: the ability to discern what matters most and act accordingly.
Why This Matters
Superficiality sells. It’s fast, frictionless, and comes with likes. Depth doesn’t. It’s slow, messy, and solitary.
But depth is where thinking lives. Not in the echo chambers or the dopamine loops, but in the quiet resistance to them.
You won’t reach the bottom overnight. The goal isn’t to be a sage—it’s to stop being a pawn.
Think deeper. Or someone else will think for you.