Yes, that means you to. And me. "The world is far too complex for anyone of us to understand much of it." These words from Philip Fernbach may sound harsh, but they align perfectly with my personal belief that on our own, we aren't worth diddly-squat...
image by johnhain - source: Pixabay
We are social creatures. We're built to achieve magnificent things, just not on our own. And this short post is a quick reminder that this rule, that we're so much better when we work together, also goes for the things we know, and the things we think we know. In fact we know next to nothing as individuals. Just ask yourself this question: why do I believe what I believe? Or; where did the knowledge I have come from? If we answer these questions honestly, we have to admit that what we know to be true, and what we believe to be true has been told to us by someone else at some point in our life.
Most of our beliefs come from listening to some sort of authority on a subject, our teachers and our parents early on in life. It's important to note that most of our deepest convictions, our core beliefs, are formed at a young age. This is why the Christian 4/14 Window Movement exists; they know 4 to 14 are the years when we are most accepting of any truth told to us.
It focuses on the 4/14 window which centers on evangelizing children between the ages of 4 and 14 years.[1] Children are targeted because they are the "most receptive, but also because they are often the most effective agents for mission" to evangelize their peer group. Groups supporting the evangelization initiative have argued that "It is crucial that mission efforts be reprioritized and re-directed toward the 4/14 age group world-wide"
source: Wikipedia
Our brains change and develop all our lives, but in that golden window until puberty most of our core beliefs are formed. The last part of our brain to be completely formed is the frontal lobe, the part that's important for decision making. To be able to make decisions you must have a rather firm belief in certain basics. Being able to say "no" to peer pressure needs some beliefs to be fairly deeply rooted in your mind. A true pacifist doesn't enlist in the army, no matter how unpatriotic that paints him or her in the eyes of many others.
The older we get, the harder it becomes to change those core beliefs, it gets more difficult to learn new things but most of all it becomes harder to unlearn things. We, adults, therefore need to make a conscious effort to challenge our own beliefs if we are to change them or even have the chance to change or modify them. It's not impossible, it happens every day countless times. I hope you all understand that the above, as so many posts trying to make a point, is just how this generally works for most people, including myself.
There's just some things in my mind that are so self-evident that I struggle to imagine the other point of view. If you've followed me for some time, you know I simply don't understand how people can ever believe that capitalism will ever work as an effective way to produce and distribute goods in a fair and sustainable manner. It's just not possible. Period. Division of labor was a good idea, but that's about it; I can think of no advantage the market economy has ever given humanity. You say competition moves technology forward? I say curiosity does. And collaboration. Whatever advantage you think capitalism brings us, I'll deconstruct it in a minute or two, no problem at all.
And that brings us to the below linked TED talk by Philip Fernbach; please watch it in its entirety. In it he makes a great case for the fact that knowledge is a group effort. He spells out that groupthink, however negatively connoted in our society, is actually exactly what all of us do. He also explains how this can be a good thing, and how it has the danger of large groups of people falling into a trap of believing the most ridiculous things. Looking at you QAnon...
Why do we believe things that aren't true? | Philip Fernbach | TEDxMileHigh
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