Fear of conversation. Philosophy solved. Flood zone safety. Consume the contrary. Making the best of your life. Don't panic! Looking for competence.
“If you want someone to pay attention to you….
Turn into a smartphone……”
― Vanessa Stallings
This week’s background music? Various DJs on YouTube, including Lika, Val Baker, Miss Monique, and others. Another that I turn to frequently for focus is Jason Lewis’s Mind Amend. I don’t really know if the isochronic tones and binaural beats have an impact, but the music it’s all set to works for me.
Hope you’re having a good week.
1. “Apparently the most terrifying feature on a smartphone is still the phone.”
The Quiet Disappearance of Conversation – Tom Greene – (Wit & Wisdom)
Apparently we’re literally talking less.
Turns out, research suggests that while we’re communicating more, we’re talking less today. In 2005, the average person spoke approximately 16,000 words each day. By 2019, that number had fallen to fewer than 13,000. Researchers determined that we now speak about 300 fewer words per day—year-over-year.
I get it. There are so many reasons why, most of them collected on that device in your pocket. But it comes with a cost, of course.
Even brief interactions with strangers improve our mood.
Brief interactions that involve, you know, talking.
Do this: Talk.
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2. “What is politics all about? Bullshit”
The Correct Answer to Every Philosophical Question – David Pinsof – (Everything is Bullshit)
Pinsoff takes on deep philosophical questions, but rather than what he sees as the traditional, boring approach, he takes his own.
There are several questions he tackles, ranging from the meaning of life, the existence of god, and whether or not free will is a thing, but the one that got my attention is the takeaway: What is politics all about?
Most political arguments are not about persuasion but about inter-mongrel dominance contests, attempts to silence or disparage opponents, and bids for moral or intellectual superiority, while concealing the fact that they’re about these ugly things.
Feels like he nailed it, laying bare what underlies most political discourse today.
If you’re at all curious about a different take on The Big Questions, it’s an entertaining read. It’s also thought provoking if you let it be.
Do this: Let it be.
3. “Flood the zone with shit”
The Flood is the Strategy – Hana Lee Goldin, MLIS – (Card Catalog)
I think we’re all familiar with the phrase, having heard it in 2018 from Steve Bannon, at that time the president’s former advisor. It refers to crafting a news cycle so full of “important” and “urgent” items that the average person can not only not keep up, but can’t tell truth from fiction, or prioritize any of it.
Goldin offers six “sandbags” to use against the flood. The first is likely the most important of all: stepping away from the flood.
Stepping away during a public crisis can feel like neglecting a duty. Continued exposure can weaken the attention we need to evaluate later reporting. We step back so that we can return with enough attention to compare accounts and decide what deserves further examination.
Preserving not just our sanity, but our ability to rationally address what’s actually happening is the goal. The problem? It takes intentional steps, and many, many people are so flooded that they can’t even consider it.
Do this: Step away for a moment.
4. “Read people you disagree with”
The Intellectual Circle Jerk and Why We Can’t Stop – JA Westenberg – (Blog)
One of the hardest things to do is to change your mind. Today’s media landscape almost ensures it’s near-to-impossible, feeding you only information that supports your pre-existing beliefs. Challenging yourself takes intention, and it takes work … work that most people find so uncomfortable as to never even consider it.
The more useful practice is to look for the strongest version of a challenge to your existing framework, find the smartest person who holds it, and take seriously the possibility that they might be right and you might be wrong.
Finding that “strongest version of a challenge” can be difficult, particularly since it lives outside of our echo chambers. But remember, the best way to argue with someone is to know their position better than they do. And, of course, keep in mind that they could be right.
Do this: Remember they might be right.
5. “Remember you must die”
What Does Memento Mori Mean? The Stoic Practice Explained – Jon Brooks – (The Stoic Handbook)
To be clear, it’s not meant to be a morbid focus point rendering everything pointless. Just the opposite, actually, it’s intended as a reminder that our time here is finite and that we should make the best of it.
If my time is limited, is this a good use of the next part of it?
To which I would also add: if my time is limited, does what I’m spending energy on right now really matter as much as I seem to think?
It’s also not an excuse to obsess.
Remembering death does not prove that every minute should be productive. Rest, play, attention to friends and unhurried care can be excellent uses of a finite life.
Do this: Memento Mori.
6. “Nobody makes a good call acting in a full-on tizzy.”
How to think clearly when everything feels like an emergency – Danny Kennedy – (Big Think)
Slow down.
The amateur move under pressure is to speed up. The trained move is to steady yourself first, then sort.
It’s easier said than done. The keyword is “trained”, in my opinion. It’s something you need to consciously practice — perhaps in less urgent crises, building the skill for true emergencies.
Panic serves no one. Breathe.
Do this: Per the essay: First, stabilize. (Yourself) Second, sort decisions by consequence.
7. “Confidence is not competence”
A field guide to seeing through false expertise – Alexis Zahner – (Big Think)
Overwhelm makes us all the more susceptible.
When your brain becomes overwhelmed — called cognitive overload — it enters a protection mode and does one of two things: It attempts to manage this stress by shutting down to certain topics because they feel too complex to deal with, or becomes passive, going along with a popular view or opinion because it’s easier than thinking for yourself.
It’s so easy to let your guard down and go into what feels like a safer, default, less critical mode. And that’s when the misinformation sneaks in.
… the most dangerous credibility failures are not the ones where we are obviously fooled by something implausible. They are the ones where we are already inclined to believe something, and surface credibility simply provides the justification we were already looking for.
The essay includes a list of steps to take to make sure the information you take in is credible.
Do this: Take the time to take those steps.
Random links
Other things I found interesting this week.
- Neo-Etiquette Basics: The New Rules of Being Human – You will nod your head repeatedly as you read this list.
- How to cut off your parents – Who owes what to who?
What I’m reading now
- The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances: A Novel – Glenn Dixon
- Neuromancer – William Gibson (Re-read)
- Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences – Neal Allen, Anne Lamott
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
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Just discovered this publication after following Ask Leo for years!!
Dived into your sources section and found it a clear Venn diagram with my own attempts to stay on top.
I note you mention the Guardian (as an expat Brit, now Canadian, that gels well) and wonder if you have looked at The Guardian Weekly – a synopsis of main stories through the week from the paper, but particularly a summary of main world wide news in brief readable chunks.
Absolutely invaluable for those brief 5 min moments when you can just read one/two items.