Coaching practices for Asymmetric Reasoning
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Asymmetric Reasoning, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I wave through arguments on my side that I’d tear apart in a heartbeat if the other side made them
- A flimsy study that confirms what I want I’ll wave straight through, but a solid one that contradicts me I’ll pick apart for hours
- I keep facing the same shape of decision over and over and starting from scratch every time, and I know I’ve lived through situations just like it that turned out a certain way
- I’ve locked onto one way of seeing this problem
- I notice I believe things mostly based on who said them
Practices that may help
- Apply the double-standard check: would I accept this reasoning if it pointed the other way?
Test whether you are holding your team’s arguments to a lower bar than the other side’s.
The Scout Mindset - Apply the same evidence standard regardless of whether you like the conclusion
Grade the evidence before you know which conclusion it supports.
Motivated Reasoning - Build a library of cases and reason from them
Accumulate a diverse set of cases with known outcomes, and retrieve structurally similar ones when facing a new problem.
Analogical Reasoning - Use multiple analogies for the same problem
Draw on at least two different analogies for a new problem and see where they agree and diverge.
Analogical Reasoning - Analogical Reasoning
Analogical reasoning — studied extensively by Dedre Gentner through structure-mapping theory — is the process of drawing conclusions in a new domain by mapping its relational structure onto a domain you understand better. It is one of the most powerful tools for learning and problem-solving, but its accuracy depends on whether the structural relationships are genuinely shared, not just surface features. The practices that make it reliable are well-supported in cognitive research. - Evaluate the argument structure, not the source
Map the logic and evaluate it independently of who made the argument.
Argument Mapping - Distinguish directional from accuracy goals before you start
Before reasoning about something, ask whether you are trying to reach a specific answer or the correct one.
Motivated Reasoning - Transfer solutions across domains by mapping the structure of the problem
When stuck, search for problems in other domains with the same relational structure.
Analogical Reasoning - Import a frame from a different domain
Describe your problem as if it were a challenge in an unrelated field, then steal the solutions from that field.
Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First - Surface the hidden premises
Find the unstated assumptions that the argument needs to work.
Argument Mapping
Related concerns
- Analogical Problem Solving
Describe your problem as if it were a challenge in an unrelated field, then steal the solutions from that field.
Import a frame from a different domain
- Analogical Reasoning After A Loss
Test whether a compelling analogy survives scrutiny of its relational structure.
Check for false analogies: does the structural mapping actually hold?
- Analogical Reasoning As A Caregiver
Analogical reasoning — studied extensively by Dedre Gentner through structure-mapping theory — is the process of drawing conclusions in a new domain by mapping its relational structure onto a domain you understand better. It is one of the most powerful tools for learning and problem-solving, but its accuracy depends on whether the structural relationships are genuinely shared, not just surface features. The practices that make it reliable are well-supported in cognitive research.
- Analogical Reasoning At Work
Analogical reasoning — studied extensively by Dedre Gentner through structure-mapping theory — is the process of drawing conclusions in a new domain by mapping its relational structure onto a domain you understand better. It is one of the most powerful tools for learning and problem-solving, but its accuracy depends on whether the structural relationships are genuinely shared, not just surface features. The practices that make it reliable are well-supported in cognitive research.
- Analogical Reasoning During A Big Change
Analogical reasoning — studied extensively by Dedre Gentner through structure-mapping theory — is the process of drawing conclusions in a new domain by mapping its relational structure onto a domain you understand better. It is one of the most powerful tools for learning and problem-solving, but its accuracy depends on whether the structural relationships are genuinely shared, not just surface features. The practices that make it reliable are well-supported in cognitive research.
- Analogical Reasoning For My Teenager
Draw on at least two different analogies for a new problem and see where they agree and diverge.
Use multiple analogies for the same problem
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.