I used to think strength meant certainty. Over time, I learned that certainty is often just attachment. The strongest thinkers are willing to be wrong quickly.
Radical open-mindedness is not passivity. It is the habit of searching for what you don’t know, especially when you feel sure. It means asking smart people to challenge you, then listening for the point that stings.
The key is to separate ego from learning. If criticism feels like a threat, you will protect the self instead of improving the model. When you can say, “I might be wrong—help me see,” disagreement turns into a tool.
Open-mindedness has structure: ask for evidence, trace cause-and-effect, and weigh arguments by credibility. The aim is to get closer to what is true, not to win a debate.