The Easy Path to Ignorance: Why Quick Answers and Single-Cause Explanations Lead to Blindness

When faced with a problem, most people are not interested in finding the perfect answer. Rather, they opt for the answer that requires the least amount of effort, sacrifice, and mental discomfort. This is the psychological path of least resistance, and it can lead to ignorance, misunderstanding, and blindness toward risk.

Take the example of the 2008 financial crisis. Most people had strong opinions about what caused it, even though the reality was far more complex than a single cause. Assigning a single cause to a complex event is the easiest way to explain it, but it rarely captures the full picture.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs once acknowledged that they receive more credit than they deserve because the true story is often too complicated for people to grasp. The same is true for most big events in the world. They are usually the result of a bunch of small, random, and boring things that compound at the right time and explode into something bigger and more powerful than anyone imagined.

People also tend to eliminate doubt and uncertainty the moment they enter their heads, even though uncertainty is a natural part of life. Eliminating doubt feels comforting, but it can lead to blindness toward risk. The 9/11 attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic were all massive and unpredictable events that blindsided people who had eliminated doubt and uncertainty from their minds.

Another path of least resistance that leads to blindness is the tendency to justify our own actions and judge others solely on their actions. It’s easier to spot other people’s mistakes than our own because we have an internal dialogue that justifies our mistakes and bad decisions. We are keenly aware of what’s going on in our own heads, but blind to what’s going on in others’.

Evil is another example of how people can be blind to their own actions. Most evil people do not see themselves as doing something wrong because they can justify their actions in a way that most victims aren’t privy to. Evil usually enters the world unrecognized by the people who let it in. It is far more commonly found in the judgments of others.

It’s important to acknowledge that the easy path of least resistance is tempting, but it can lead to blindness and ignorance. Instead, we need to embrace complexity and uncertainty, acknowledge the role of multiple causes in big events, and be open to the possibility that we may be blind to our own actions. By doing so, we can become more aware and better equipped to deal with the challenges of life.