Changes

We quantify intelligence (IQ), academic performance (grades), body weight (pounds or kilograms), running speed, and all sorts of other personal characteristics.  But perhaps more useful than any of those numbers would be a measure of openmindedness.

We quantify intelligence (IQ), academic performance (grades), body weight (pounds or kilograms), running speed, and all sorts of other personal characteristics.  But perhaps more useful than any of those numbers would be a measure of open-mindedness.

By "openmindness" I mean a genuine willingness to consider the evidence before rejecting an idea.  I do not mean tolerance, or a rejection of absolute truth, or [[skepticism]].  Openmindness means here what the dictionary says:  "receptive to arguments or ideas."<ref>http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=open-mindedness</ref>

By "open-mindedness" I mean a genuine willingness to consider the evidence before rejecting an idea.  I do not mean tolerance, or a rejection of absolute truth, or [[skepticism]].  Open-mindedness means here what the dictionary says:  "receptive to arguments or ideas."<ref>http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=open-mindedness</ref>

One way to measure openmindedness is to test for close-mindedness, and then take the converse.  A subject for our measurement can be asked if he views certain proposals as impossible.  By impossible I do not mean mathematically impossible, but so unlikely as to be considered absurd.  Belief in impossibility is a sign of close-mindedness, because it reflects the unwillingness of the subject to be "receptive" to the possibility.

One way to measure open-mindedness is to test for close-mindedness, and then take the converse.  A subject for our measurement can be asked if he views certain proposals as impossible.  By impossible I do not mean mathematically impossible, but so unlikely as to be considered absurd.  Belief in impossibility is a sign of close-mindedness, because it reflects the unwillingness of the subject to be "receptive" to the possibility.

== Example Questions and Topics ==

== Example Questions and Topics ==

::1aa.  If if you have never heard of it, then will you seriously consider the evidence?

::1aa.  If if you have never heard of it, then will you seriously consider the evidence?

::1ab.  If you have heard of it, but have never seriously considered the evidence, then on this question you lose a point for lack of openmindedness.

::1ab.  If you have heard of it, but have never seriously considered the evidence, then on this question you lose a point for lack of open-mindedness.

:2b.  If yes, then how much time have you spent reviewing the evidence?  What evidence did you look at?

:2b.  If yes, then how much time have you spent reviewing the evidence?  What evidence did you look at?

::2ba.  If less than 1 hour, then you lose a point for lack of openmindedness.

::2ba.  If less than 1 hour, then you lose a point for lack of open-mindedness.

::2bb.  If more than 1 hour, then ... [Optional question: When, where, what and how did you review the evidence?  If the answers are consistent with your claim of spending more than an hour, then ...] ... you gain a point for openmindedness.  

::2bb.  If more than 1 hour, then ... [Optional question: When, where, what and how did you review the evidence?  If the answers are consistent with your claim of spending more than an hour, then ...] ... you gain a point for open-mindedness.  

::2bc.  If you have not reviewed the evidence due to lack of time or interest, have you formed an opinion about the idea anyway?

::2bc.  If you have not reviewed the evidence due to lack of time or interest, have you formed an opinion about the idea anyway?

== Further Refinements ==

== Further Refinements ==

A more sophisticated approach would be to replace the time threshold (an hour in the above example) with an analog version or formula that converted time spent reviewing the evidence of a new idea into a a variable for openmindedness.  For example, the openmindedness variable O could be:

A more sophisticated approach would be to replace the time threshold (an hour in the above example) with an analog version or formula that converted time spent reviewing the evidence of a new idea into a a variable for openmindedness.  For example, the open-mindedness variable O could be:

:<math>O = t/60</math>

:<math>O = t/60</math>