The segregation of information

The advent of modern communications technology has brought an incredible availability of information to your average American. If you want to know about something, you google it. If you have a particular interest in something you can join any number of communities on the internet that support that interest. I myself am a member of boardgamegeek.com, the best resource (and community) out there for board gaming.

In addition to interests, the internet makes it easy to surround yourself with similar opinions. People generally do not like to be challenged in their opinions, so they become friends with those who hold similar beliefs. Social media is a prime example of this, in that you choose who you "follow", and therefore the information you receive.

Now, some people do choose to follow and pay attention to people and organizations that they do not agree with, but these people are in the minority. Most of us only really like to pay attention to those who agree with us. It's far more comfortable to only talk to and listen to people who agree with you. You don't have to have your opinions challenged.

Despite the people and organizations you affiliate yourself with, there always do crop up a few ideas that you disagree with. I feel that most people do not actually take the time to consider ideas that they disagree with. Far more often people simply read things just to disagree with them, like waiting for a break in a conversation so you can tell someone how wrong they are. Reading the comments section on most websites is like walking through a minefield of hatefulness.

I'm not claiming that we should all just hold hands and sing around the campfire and forget about our differences, but what we should do is actually give respect to other people's opinions and beliefs. No one person has perfect knowledge. We all have many opinions on various issues, and statistically speaking some of our opinions are uninformed. Some of my current beliefs will be simplistic or ridiculous to my future self. That's part of growing older, becoming more informed. This process does not happen on its own, it requires actual effort. You must read, you must learn, you must understand different sides to issues. To not seek out new information is to allow your mind to become stagnant.

Take some time to consider different viewpoints. Truth is outside of yourself.

Introspection

In my Business Policy class this evening the professor was lecturing on Analysis. One of the most common problems with analysis that he talked about is that people don't analyze their analysis. To rephrase, people in a business setting often use a form of analysis but do not analyze the form they are using: why they are using it, how useful it is, and then later how accurate the analysis was.

This concept certainly applies in our personal lives as well. We accumulate knowledge over the course of our lives, but to use that knowledge well requires introspection. It is not enough to know something, an educated person must also know how they know it. How it came to your attention, why it came to your attention, and what action is demanded based on the knowledge are all questions to ask yourself. Asking yourself these questions will greatly improve your ability to use knowledge.

Taking this a step further, I always find it interesting and helpful to reflect upon how I think in general, not just how I think about specific issues. Knowing how you take in and process information is important to a good understanding of self. Another part of this is knowing your reactionary tendencies. For example, many people have an immediate reaction of defensiveness when someone mentions a constructive criticism to them. Oftentimes this is an inappropriate reaction, so it is useful to know if that is your tendency so that you can strive to overcome it.

I am a fan of strategy in general and strategy games in particular. Strategy games keep my mind active and give me the joy of solving an optimization puzzle. Through playing games and then reflecting on my strategy afterwards (something a lot of people never do), I have come to discover some of my strategic weaknesses. A minor one is the tendency to try strategies that are considered to be less optimal just to see if I can make it work. The largest strategic weakness I have is the tendency to project, to think that others will think how I think. It has certainly lost me plenty of games. Remembering my tendency to project while playing games allows me to actively work against my tendency and compete more effectively.

The same idea can apply to thinking in any area in your life. Knowing how you think allows you to overcome areas that challenge you and can lead to great benefits in all facets of your life. Also remember to reflect upon your weaknesses in your thinking and view them as opportunities to improve yourself. I highly recommend taking the time to think about how you think.

Wasting food is good for the hungry

You know how when you're a kid your mom always tells you to eat all the food you're given because "There's starving children in Africa!"? A thought occurred to me today. Not the usual thought that the starving kids in africa would not want my tofu stir-fry by the time it could be shipped to them, but something else. In a way, me wasting food is actually good for the hungry people in the world!

Let me explain. If I take more food than I should, or if I allow food to go bad that I have purchased, I am essentially artificially inflating the demand for food (both worldwide and locally). When demand rises, supply follows (on a long-term scale). When supply rises, prices fall. When the price of food falls, the poor can afford food more. Thus, by spending more than I had to on food, I have created economic benefit. I am satisfied in having more options and flexibility in my eating habits, the poor benefit from the drop in prices, and food producers/growers benefit from increased sales.

Now, the above thought doesn't take into account the fact that an increase in demand in a certain area may lead to temporary shortages which would increase the price of food temporarily, but supply would then catch up and even things out with lower prices overall in the long term. I'm sure there are other arguments to be made here as this is just an off-the-cuff thought, but I do find it interesting

The point to be made here is to actually think through commonly-accepted wisdom and determine how wise it actually is. Many things we "know" are not true but have just been repeated so often by so many people that we actually think they are true.


An area of policy that I am interested in but know very little about is farm subsidies and their effect on the economy. Another area related to food that I'm interested in is FDA regulation. I suppose the two are tied together in some cases, but my knowledge is very limited in these areas. Any good links you could leave in the comments or books you could recommend would be welcome.