Critical thinking is a superpower. Problem solving is a superpower. How to improve happiness. Fewer options can be better. Science doesn't stop (or care). The internet is for chatbots. Reading is on the decline.
“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”
― Oscar Wilde
This issue might be a bit of a downer, for which I apologize. While it certainly highlights skills and actions you can take to better yourself, the challenge is to actually take those actions and develop those skills. The Atlantic’s article on the decline of reading (takeaway #7) implies many, if not most, are unlikely to take those actions.
It all leaves me with very mixed feelings. I will say that for those willing to make the effort, the opportunities to set yourself apart and succeed in ways others are unlikely to are significant.
1. “The only ability that will matter is your own judgment”
This Skill Makes You Dangerous In The AI Era – Sandeep Swadia – (YouTube)
Critical thinking. Critical thinking is the skill that will make you a superpower in the coming years. Misinformation and misdirection are only going to get worse.
I think the answer lies in staying close to reality and investing in your own judgment, in your own critical skills
Swadia outlines five specific “distortions”, as he calls them, that we need to guard against.
- Authority replacing evidence
- Marketing “true lies”
- Groupthink / consensus pressure
- AI over-reliance / cognitive offloading
- Self-deception / wishful thinking
He gives examples for each, as well as the steps needed to protect yourself from each.
Do this: It’s a video worth watching, but if I had to sum up one thing to do, it’s a theme that’s common across a lot of my writing: be skeptical.
#critical-thinking #skepticism
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2. “Your brain evolved to solve problems, not to watch things.”
Harvard Scientists Studied 200 Aging Brains for a Decade — One Daily Habit Made All the Difference – (Better Within)
Reading. The habit is reading.
And not just reading feeds or even articles, it’s deep reading. In other words, books.
People who maintained a regular reading habit experienced cognitive decline 32% slower than non-readers.
That’s a significant number. Unfortunately, current technology is pushing us away from this type of reading, at a deep, long-term cost.
The brain operates on a single, non-negotiable principle: use it or lose it.
The essay includes more examples, but the importance of reading has been one of my themes here for some time.
Do this: Do I have to say it? READ. Read books.
3. “Practice good happiness hygiene”
10 Practical Ways to Improve Happiness (gift link) – Arthur C. Brooks – (The Atlantic)
They are, indeed, practical. Brooks will also admit that they’re likely things we’ve all heard before, in various places and in various ways.
Brooks quotes Gretchen Rubin:
“These ideas are terrific—and familiar,” Rubin told me recently. What impressed her wasn’t their originality (your grandmother might’ve told you most of them); rather, it was the fact that they were both effective and practical. “For many of us, the bigger challenge isn’t knowing what actions would make us happier, but actually doing those things.”
Actually doing those things. That’s where we fall down.
Do this: Review the list. Do the things. Start with one and do it regularly.
4. “People pay more, sometimes dramatically so, to have fewer options.”
Infinite choice is the curse of the AI era, and you already hate it – JA Westenberg – (Blog)
The essay, as the title indicates, is about AI and how it appears that it will continue to provide more choices, rather than fewer; sometimes an overwhelming amount.
I found it a great reminder of the concept of “decision fatigue”.
… deciding is work that depletes the same cognitive resources as manual labor …
I find it fascinating that, explicitly or otherwise, we do indeed make choices that avoid excess decision fatigue. We often even pay more for the privilege. Examples range from Costco’s limited selection to the “decide for me” menus at high-end (and high-cost) restaurants.
Do this: Watch your decisions.
5. “Science and science leadership don’t stand still”
Who pays the cost when Americans opt out of science? – Adam Frank – (Big Think)
Last week I shared a story on Not All News Is Bad: mRNA vaccines safe and effective, confirms Lancet review. In response, I received a very angry unsubscribe: “Why are you pushing these lies? ” This person believed that one of the most prestigious medical journals known was lying. This person had left any understanding of science long behind.
There are many reasons, and the essay above goes into several of them. But the takeaway for me, that I’m not seeing discussed as often as I would like, is this:
History shows that once a nation begins to slip in those commitments, the frontier of scientific progress moves elsewhere. Just as important, history shows that the nations making this commitment are the ones that prosper from the latest scientific breakthroughs.
I don’t know if, how, or how quickly we can turn this around, but the U.S. is clearly losing its leadership position and all the benefits that come with it.
Do this: Learn what science means, and then trust the process.
6. “An internet built for chatbots instead of people”
The Shape of Enshittification. – Ryan Levesque – (The Digital Contrarian)
That feels like jumping to a conclusion. Levesque lays out how and why it’s a rational conclusion; I’m just not sure it’s the end. So many things are evolving, it seems just as likely we’ll move to something beyond that at some point. What that looks like is unknown, but I don’t think it’s that simple. Nonetheless, it’s very likely a state of the internet we’ll be transitioning through for some time.
I do like this observation:
The market for information is collapsing into the chatbot. But the market for transformation is moving the other way.
Again, I see this as a transitional period, as there are many, many factors involved.
It’s a longer article, with many interesting observations along the way. Worth your time.
Do this: Watch the transformation.
7. “Many Americans are proudly postliterate”
The End of Reading Is Here – Rose Horowitch – (The Atlantic)
Well. This is depressing. As an avid reader my entire life, the trend is both disappointing and scary.
… people are losing the ability to think deeply about writing. That doesn’t mean they are forgetting how to decode individual words. Rather, they are losing the higher-order abilities of comprehension and synthesis. America, in other words, isn’t illiterate. It’s postliterate.
It’s a lengthy article, but I do recommend you read it. There are many aspects to what’s happening around us. As someone who’s subtly and not-so-subtly been advocating for deeper thought and critical thinking specifically, the decline in reading skills is deeply concerning. I want to find hope, I really do, but what I’m reading (*ahem*) has little to offer.
Do this: Read. Read more. Read deeply.
Random Links
- Researchers affirm long-held belief that viruses can trigger Parkinson’s disease – Texas A&M. Fascinating.
- Stop AI-Shaming Our Precious, Kindly Em Dashes—Please – I feel this.
What I’m reading now
- The Gate of the Feral Gods: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 4 – Matt Dinniman
- Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences – Neal Allen, Anne Lamott
- The Way of Kings: Book One of the Stormlight Archive – Brandon Sanderson
- The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke – (Audio)
- The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark – Carl Sagan
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
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