The thought leadership problem
There is a clear deficit of authenticity in the intellectual domain. We see the devastating consequences of this deficit in politics, in arts, in the business domain and of course in academia.
How to fix this:
don’t read stuff you’re not interesting in!
write about stuff you’re interested in, before you read stuff on the topic; in other words think without support!
once you stand on your own feet, check others’ opinions and take
Following this approach you may re-evaluate your initial position a couple of times, but you’ll always remain authentic.
What has lead to the wide spread authenticity deficit in the intellectual domain is the opposite approach:
pick a profitable domain
study what the most successful people are saying
repeat what they say (even how they say it)
The repulsive thing about this is not the approach per se, but how those who propagate this approach usurp decision making positions.
You’ll find more on this in Critical Thinking?