What is both/and thinking?

Both/and thinking is a concept in personal epistemology: Some genuine tensions must be managed rather than resolved.

Example: You value both deep focus and open-door collaboration. These aren't confused priorities — they're a genuine polarity. No amount of analysis will reveal that one is 'correct.' You manage them by oscillating: deep mornings, open afternoons. The tension never goes away. That's the point.

This concept is part of Phase 19 (Contradiction Resolution) in the How to Think curriculum, which builds the epistemic infrastructure for contradiction resolution.