A related realization I made on my morning walk: We often don't have any conscious awareness of <i>the moment we decide</i> or conclude something. If we are prompted in some way - for example, if we are asked to make a choice - then we have access to our decision after the fact. If we are listening intently, or even if we're just waiting for something to end, then it's like we're polling for the decision, and we're aware immediately. However, in a lot of other cases, the decision happens outside of our awareness and only later does something prompt us to access it.<p>This makes it very hard to avoid concluding something <i>prematurely</i>. This is why it's so easy to mistake an association with something you don't like for a well reasoned refutation. This may be a part of the reason why prejudices of all kinds are so prevalent.
Bonus points for "What should it look like if he is [right]?" and "Maybe there's something I should do differently?"<p>What I really like about LessWrong is that the advices are actionable. I had Philosophy and Sociology classes in high-school and I didn't get anything out of them because we weren't taught how to <i>use</i> the things they threw at us.<p>I think it is very unfortunate that rationality is not widely advertised as the tool it is.
I have a love/hate relationship with <i>lesswrong</i>. Every time I read one of their articles I pop open 5 links to other <i>lesswrong</i> articles that are being referenced. This has the potential to increase my to-read list exponentially.
Great suggestion about trying to shift into "ask questions" mode frequently. Is that something others do as well? Or (conversely) do you try to make "ask questions" your normal default, and shift into "get focused" mode at certain times?