The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain

by Annie Murphy Paul

We would probably put down a novel or switch off a movie that didn’t introduce conflict early on—whether that conflict centers on a resolute hero battling the odds, two lovers separated by fate, or a looming disaster that might yet be averted. The drama inherent in conflict is what keeps us reading or watching. Yet we expect students and employees to attend to information that’s been drained of conflict, blandly presented as the established account or consensus view. In fact, almost every topic can be cast in terms that highlight opposing perspectives—and should be, according to David Johnson, a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. It is “a general rule of teaching,” he has written, “that if an instructor does not create an intellectual conflict within the first few minutes of class, students won’t engage with the lesson.” Johnson has spent decades investigating the uses of what he calls “constructive controversy,” or the open-minded exploration of diverging ideas and beliefs.