Lifelong Learner #24

The power of method transparency

To all lifelong learners,

I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “truth”. Something that is seldom binary, but more constructed by which questions we chose to ask, which data we chose to include, what conclusions we chose to make.

A thought I’m exploring: What if the key to a more truthful and understanding society isn’t just about sharing opinions and facts, but being completely open about exactly how we arrived at them?

Enter the concept of Method Transparency. In the scientific community, method transparency means explicitly sharing the steps, data, and decisions that lead to a conclusion. A landmark 2018 framework by LeBel and colleagues outlined how method and data transparency is the first and most fundamental dimension of evaluating credibility. Without sufficient methodological details, a hypothesis isn’t truly falsifiable, making it impossible to comprehensively identify flaws or build robust knowledge.

But this practice isn’t just for academics. Organizations like the Center for Open Science are pioneering this movement, setting forth guidelines on data and method transparency to ensure research is verifiable and accessible. When we show our work, whether it’s the methodology of a groundbreaking study, the sources behind a news article, or the reasoning behind a difficult decision, we invite dialogue instead of blind acceptance. Transparency builds trust.

This becomes important if you’ve for example worked for a long time at your current job. We can become so used to our own expertise that we expect others to simply take our word for it. By actively making our methods transparent, we avoid intellectual complacency and can approach our own logic with the openness and curiosity of someone seeing it for the first time.

This is something I’d also love to see all politicians adopt more consistently as they make a claim about something. Trust in the political discussion and the accuracy of what is being shared isn’t always high, but method transparency has the power to increase that trust.

A question I’m asking myself: In what area of my life do I present firm conclusions without sharing the journey I took to reach them?

Our collective challenge: Let’s start small. This week, let’s try a one-minute experiment. When you share a strong opinion or a piece of news with a colleague, family member, or friend: take one extra minute to share your “method.” Explain the “how” behind your thought process: “I read about this from [Source], and it led me to this conclusion because of [Reason].” It’s a small investment with a proven return.

Looking forward to learning together with you. Thank you 🙏

Johan