Finally, research supports that being confused can be a good thing.
A key excerpt:
In a lovely essay in the Journal of Cell Science, Martin Schwartz argues for the importance of feeling stupid in scientific research. "If we don't feel stupid," he writes, "it means we're not really trying." He goes on to relate the feeling of stupidity to scientific progress: "Focusing on important questions puts us in the awkward position of being ignorant. One of the beautiful things about science is that it allows us to bumble along, getting it wrong time after time, and feel perfectly fine as long as we learn something each time."
Schwartz was writing about feelings of ignorance and stupidity, but he could have been writing about confusion. Like feeling stupid, feeling confused can be aversive. But it's also a signal that we're on the path to learning, and that's an outcome to embrace.
Finally, research supports that being confused can be a good thing.
A key excerpt:
In a lovely essay in the Journal of Cell Science, Martin Schwartz argues for the importance of feeling stupid in scientific research. "If we don't feel stupid," he writes, "it means we're not really trying." He goes on to relate the feeling of stupidity to scientific progress:
"Focusing on important questions puts us in the awkward position of being ignorant. One of the beautiful things about science is that it allows us to bumble along, getting it wrong time after time, and feel perfectly fine as long as we learn something each time."
Schwartz was writing about feelings of ignorance and stupidity, but he could have been writing about confusion. Like feeling stupid, feeling confused can be aversive. But it's also a signal that we're on the path to learning, and that's an outcome to embrace.
http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/12/14/459651340/sometimes-confusion-is-a-good-thing