Open Society
Taleb connects Popper’s open society with institutions and habits that allow criticism and revision. He extends the idea to trading: when outcomes are uncertain, a belief needs room to be challenged.
THE IDEA
Open Society
Popper’s falsificationism is intimately connected to the notion of an open society. An open society is one in which no permanent truth is held to exist; this would allow counter-ideas to emerge. Karl Popper shared ideas with his friend, the low-key economist von Hayek, who endorsed capitalism as a state in which prices can disseminate information that bureaucratic socialism would choke. Both notions of falsificationism and open society are, counterintuitively, connected to those of a rigorous method for handling randomness in my day job as a trader. Clearly, an open mind is a necessity when dealing with randomness. Popper believed that any idea of Utopia is necessarily closed owing to the fact that it chokes its own refutations. The simple notion of a good model for society that cannot be left open for falsification is totalitarian. I learned from Popper, in addition to the difference between an open and a closed society, that between an open and a closed mind.
When to use it
In a company, encouraging open debate about strategies to avoid groupthink and foster innovation.
In scientific research, adopting a falsificationist approach to rigorously test hypotheses.
In personal development, cultivating the habit of being open to changing your mind when presented with strong evidence.
In politics, advocating for institutions that protect free speech and allow peaceful dissent.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Scientific Progress in an Open Society
Relativity exposed limits in Newtonian physics, while Newtonian models remain useful within their range of accuracy. The example illustrates revising the scope of a theory in response to evidence rather than treating every scientific change as wholesale replacement.
Political Discourse in Open vs. Closed Societies
In an open society, dissenting political opinions are allowed and encouraged, whereas a closed society suppresses them, as seen in totalitarian regimes that reject falsification of their ideology.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How does the concept of an open society apply to the way you handle criticism of your beliefs?
In what ways might your organization be more closed than open, and what could you do to encourage counter-ideas?
What are the risks of holding permanent truths in a rapidly changing world, and how can you guard against them?
Often confused with
References
- The Open Society and Its Enemies — Karl Popper (1945)
- The Road to Serfdom — Friedrich Hayek (1944)
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Fooled by Randomness The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)