When we encounter a statistical claim about the world and are thinking of sharing it on social media or typing a furious rebuttal, we should instead ask ourselves, “How does this make me feel?”[*] We should do this not just for our own sake, but as a social duty. We’ve seen how powerful social pressure can be in influencing what we believe and how we think. When we slow down, control our emotions and our desire to signal partisan affiliation, and commit ourselves to calmly weighing the facts, we’re not just thinking more clearly—we are also modeling clear thinking for others.
