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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.

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 "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>

By "open-mindedness" we mean a genuine willingness to consider the evidence before rejecting an idea.  We do not mean tolerance, or a rejection of absolute truth, or [[skepticism]].  Open-mindedness here means 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 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.

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 we 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.

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== Test Your Open-mindedness ==

== Test Your Open-mindedness ==