Independent thinking 5.2.21

How do we help create independent thinkers if we are evolutionarily wired to want to conform to the group?

This feels like a conundrum, and a muscle that needs to be consciously exercised. Ryan Smerek explored this concept in his book Speaking Up at Work: The Power and Peril of Independent Thinking. Data shows that conformity happens at the level of our perceptions, not with our conscious thoughts and deliberation. It feels like independent thinking needs to be deliberately practiced. And the pain center of the brain that experiences independence and loneliness must be acknowledged and recognized to help overcome the innate human desire to conform...