Generally, we humans tend to intellectual laziness. As Daniel Kahneman showed through decades of research, our ‘system 1’ intuitive, emotional and frequently erroneous thinking is easiest to access, where as our ‘system 2’ functions of methodical analysis, reason and assumption-checking take a lot more work, time and energy.
A unique challenge to our system 2 today, well beyond anything seen in history before, is the constant supply of easy, short, shallow info bites flowing around the internet day and night. Fast food for the brain, they can fill and distract us without fueling the growth of mind muscle and strength. Centuries of experience have shown that humans need rigorous systems, discipline and challenge in order to test and evolve our thinking and understanding of the world.
Another feature that has ‘dumbed’ the past 15 years has been the unprecedented proliferation of ‘easy money’ and speculation courtesy of the finance sector and complicit politicians. This has had the unfortunate effect of allowing weak hands to wield money and influence for years at a time, before intermittent, catastrophic wipe-outs reveal truth once more.
This video on the scientific method, reminds of the importance of critical, fact-based thinking. In a world, where we are constantly urged to abandon the discipline of math and measurements and go with the flow, thinking people must keep lifting heavier weights.
OFFERING: A four-minute video on “Science in America” — https://t.co/2wEsrlJssj
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) April 19, 2017
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