“Given that thought necessarily takes time and energy, the fact that you considered an option and then disregarded it is not a “wasted effort,” because there’s no other way to figure out the right answer than actually to do the calculation. Similarly, you’re not at fault for failing to know something or for temporarily holding a misconception; the process of acquiring correct (or at least “less wrong”) beliefs about the world requires substantive computation and physical interaction with other people. Changing your opinions when you discover you’re in error isn’t something to be embarrassed about – it’s an intrinsic step in the algorithm of acquiring better opinions itself.”

— Brian Tomasik, Dissolving Confusions about Consciousness (Essays on Reducing Suffering, 2014)