Nowhere is America’s intellectual decline so profound as the increasing inability of her citizens to think critically. Since 2015, the country’s political milieu has devolved to the point that a significant proportion of the general public has come to personally identify self-worth with political views, subsequently construing any disagreement with the premise or validity of such views, however mild, as a violent, personal attack.
Rather, citizens should recall F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous quote “first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function”. Fitzgerald's word choice in this version of the quote invites misinterpretation of his meaning. While semantically similar, another version of the quote reads more accurately, “the truest sign of intelligence is the ability to entertain two contradictory ideas simultaneously”. Combining the two fully illustrates Fitzgerald’s intent:
“The truest sign of intelligence is the ability to entertain two contradictory ideas simultaneously and retain the ability to function”
The amended quote includes two significant changes to the first that appear in the second. The first is the replacement of “opposing” with the word “contradictory”, defined as “inconsistent”, “logically opposite”, and “mutually opposed”. The second is replacement of the word “hold” with “entertain”; this difference prevents an incorrect interpretation of Fitzgerald’s quote to mean intelligence is one’s ability to believe—as both true or both false—in contradictory ideas at the same time. Ironically, this belief is typically a litmus test for an incorrect or ignorant individual given the following factors.
Simultaneous belief in two contradictory ideas is a paradox, possible only in theory, as demonstrated by Schrödinger's cat thought experiment in which a cat is considered both dead and alive at any given time. No physical reality exists in which a cat can be simultaneously dead and alive. This misguided belief is impossible in reality because rational people act in accordance with their belief system; however, a belief system with a conviction that two contradictory ideas are both correct is not only impossible by definition but becomes stuck in an infinite logical loop preventing the individual from “retain[ing] the ability to function”.
Consider a scenario where an individual that eats breakfast in the morning and goes to sleep at night believes it is simultaneously morning and night. A simultaneous belief it is morning and night results in this never-ending logical loop, forever preventing a decision based on objective truth from being made: “It is morning so I must eat breakfast, but it is night so I must go to sleep, but it is morning so I must eat breakfast, but…”
If this person was a computer, he or she would crash or display an error and cease to function until reboot or termination of the task at hand. To break out of the infinite logical loop, i.e. function, the person is forced to make a 50/50 guess at best and a woefully mis/uninformed decision at worst. Imagine the chaos if this same logic was applied to circumstances of life and death such as an EMT who believes science states administering an EpiPen to a patient having a severe allergic reaction will both save the patient and kill the patient. To save the patient, the EMT must choose the correct action, but the decision is inhibited by the conviction that both options are equally viable.
Instead, Fitzgerald draws attention to the necessity of considering or “entertaining” the merits—or lack thereof—of two contradictory ideas and forming a rational conclusion.
Ayn Rand supplements Fitzgerald’s quote with one of her own from Atlas Shrugged stating
“Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find one of them is wrong”
People who genuinely question the validity and premises of your belief are checking their premises and engaging in the intelligent behavior Fitzgerald lauds. They are attempting to hold/entertain two opposing/contradictory views at the same time, consider the relevant merits, and reconcile them into a consistent world view upon which certain actions produce predictable results every time. America stands to benefit from more individuals willing to humble themselves and embrace challenges to their beliefs and reconcile contradictions they see and hear whether from friends and family or from alleged authorities. Those who believe in reality, i.e. objective truth, should never fear challenges to their beliefs as they will either prove themselves right or be corrected and learn new information which is what they are presumably seeking.