I saw this and thought of you straight away (which could be concerning!)
Thanks for that, it does seem that way doesn’t it?
You sent this at a good time. I am slowly coming to accept that focusing on the information/data/research papers is counterproductive. Admittedly, this has been a fairly demoralising discovery - though it certainly brings up the question of how can topics be meaningfully discussed without referring to or critiquing the information itself? That is an idea that I need to start to come to terms with because prior to engaging in this thread it is something I was totally naive to.
I have a few thoughts. Perhaps it is more about trying to get them to unpack why exactly they believe X Y Z in the hopes that they at least start to critically reflect on their positions / information more. The potential problem I see with that idea is that it seems every sensationalist Fox News / social media talking point tends to flood into this thread so we tend to jump from topic to topic like headless chooks at times.
Not to get too philosophical but I do believe the onslaught of information in the modern age tends to leave us shallow in thought. We each hold an increasing number of opinions, yet don’t have the time to consider each one in any great detail. Also, critically, within seconds of seeing a new piece of information we are surrounded by opinions of others online. Humans are terribly vulnerable to herd mentality and group think. It can’t be good that there is such little time to consider your own thoughts when confronted by new information.
If I looked back at my comments, I imagine they would perceive that I’m trying to turn them against everything they believe. While there’s probably an element of truth to that with respect to certain topics, I ultimately would much prefer that the black and white start to blend and that they don’t have to be all in on an idea when there’s a possibility they themselves may not fully know why at this stage.
Im going to have a listen to the extended podcast of that sometime because I do have a lot to learn when it comes to what helps and doesn’t; as well as what exactly am I dealing with.
