A **beginner’s mind**, *shoshin* (初心), is a concept in Zen Buddhism that encourages openness, eagerness, and humility in one’s pursuits. It is a means of approaching subject matter from the standpoint of a novice, with interest and curiosity, rather than that of an expert. Cultivating a beginner’s mind does not require dispensation of any previously acquired knowledge, rather it fosters dispensation of one’s preconceptions, particularly those enmeshed in one’s identification with their own expertise. It emphasizes observation of how the particularities of similar situations may differ. Parmenides of Elea is perhaps a decontextualized example of *shoshin*. While his [[Philosophy MOC#Parmenides of Elea|philosophy]] essentially repudiates sensory experience, he is also partially [credited](https://books.google.com/books?id=0qqp4Vk1zG0C&pg=PA307#v=onepage&q&f=false) with recognizing [[Venus]] as the morning and evening star[^1], and constructing a prototypical model for the basic climactic [divisions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_zone?wprov=sfti1#See_alsoraphical_zone?wprov=sfti1#See_also) of Earth.[^2] These anecdotes suggest that skepticism of one’s opinions creates opportunities to perceive one’s intuitions. [^1]: Burkert, W. (1972). _Lore and science in ancient Pythagoreanism_. Harvard University Press. [^2]: Strab. 2,2,1-2 in: Coxon, A. H. (2009). _Fragments of Parmenides_. Parmenides Publishing.