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The following is a thread for my internet friend @_jordan_bates, who said it's almost impossible to find "a castle of concepts" or "a whole new module" for perceiving the world. Here are some of mine. Let's start meta: high-res vs low-res models: https://t.co/19zdOv4ZUs
People typically have high-res models of their own lives and lower-res models of other people’s. We are all born clueless with incredibly low-res models of the world - then we tweak and upgrade our models. Different people do this to different degrees depending on many variables
Next up is Menworld – a thought experiment describing the "subculture" or "cult" of masculinity that so much of the world buys into that many simply see it as "the world". Recognizing it doesn't mean you can escape it, but it can give you some space https://t.co/8YqjGWRKy1
Many men grow up in Menworld, where you get bullied, mocked, beaten, threatened, etc for all sorts of minor transgressions (being too emotional, being wrong, etc). To those guys, those seem to be the rules of life; how the world works. The powerful take from the weak, etc
Just as the WWE is a TV show ABOUT a wrestling show, modern news media is a participatory-interactive TV show ABOUT the news. With real consequences, which make it more exciting. We're all collaboratively coauthoring the shared social fictions of our time https://t.co/uZfTjCIeGE
I’ve been stewing this theory for 1 year +: Just as how the WWE isn’t a wrestling show, but a show ABOUT a wrestling show, mainstream media is less about the news than a participatory interactive tv show ABOUT the news Cable News Network is really Cable News Entertainment https://t.co/QZO2t8I9fI
Socializing involves polite fictions. People are bad at lying on multiple fronts, so they'll often accidentally reveal their true beliefs about X when they're dunking on Y. (Journaling obsessively is a great way to later discover your own hidden beliefs) https://t.co/YXt1LhCSFa
Here's a module I'm a big fan of: fashion! "what's fashionable or unfashionable about this?" "what would this look like if it were fashionable?" "how will this eventually become unfashionable?" fashion is a status + signalling game, nothing is immune https://t.co/pACvRuG4Hr
Another: games and meta-games. What game are we playing here? What game are you playing? Are we playing "my game is better than your game"? Are we playing the "let's break out of this game" game? Are we having fun? https://t.co/5FL4P667BJ
How it's possible to paint a dishonest picture by telling selective truths, and how we all do it because narrative bias and selection bias – and this applies to every person you meet, every book on your shelf, and most of your own internal dialogue https://t.co/4awLroIkbP
This was slightly geeky and clunky (older than most of the rest), but the underlying model has been really useful to me only 3 variables that matter sensitivity (observe) smarts (process) strength (act) use them to nourish and nurture others https://t.co/6aDtZ2VMHG
"Echo chamber" is phrase that can be used to dismiss anybody who has taken the trouble to design an apparatus for processing info. But every serious info operator HAS to do it. Refuse to weed your garden, and your flowers will die + be overrun with weeds https://t.co/aVG87ZOaPL
Sensitivity as a critical missing link in the chain that humans depend on to coordinate and flourish. We need to get better at lowering our defenses so that we can help and heal each other https://t.co/AfSIDDYY7E
Time for a thread on sensitivity. My personal model of excellence involves 3 variables: sensitivity, smarts and strength. Most people intuitively know why it’s good to be smart and strong, but sensitivity is too-often framed as a weakness https://t.co/Z5gnnKhjLV
Change is hard. Homeostasis is powerful. We have limited time and energy. Collecting information can actually be counter-productive. Rather, we need to move fast to create experiences that allow us to make micro-shifts in our identities and beliefs https://t.co/PGGQhIksya
A simple metaphor to convey a massive source of conflict and disagreement: different people have radically different experiences. Your friends' parents might seem nice to you, but it could be because they're only nice when you're around. Etc https://t.co/3JdCKkTak4
a reflection on how whisper networks take years, decades, maybe centuries to achieve their goals – and how it's necessary to be strategic about paradigm-shifting comms, and a glimpse of how to do that (hint: jokes) https://t.co/JHqdgeohY2
It took centuries (?) of feminism and over a decade of whisper networks to address Harvey's exploitation of women. A few decades ago, most of us wouldn't even have seen it as particularly bad or wrong. There's something similar about the relationship between capital and labor
communication happens in a marketplace, and the marketplace can have a lemon problem – ie you have no way to signal "I am good", since malicious agents can do the same – and you have to take this into account when participating in the marketplace https://t.co/MsjUY3uDvt
I've had several conversations with frustrated men who say things like, "How can I talk about feminism w/o women accusing me of being a fake male white-knight feminist who's out to score points?" See, this is a lemon problem. It's NOT ABOUT YOU. It's about the CONTEXT you are in https://t.co/JpjCc5PoRt
principles of community and conflict management – this image alone is worth the RT. we cannot help but misunderstand each other, and we should account for this https://t.co/FPpZ2dBVAj
No matter how carefully you articulate your principles, when you meet new people, you're going to see them violated them in all sorts of unexpected, unforeseen ways. This is because your principles are shaped from your experience, which contains assumptions you aren't aware of https://t.co/x3CdSSZkFl
people like to help others, but they don't like to be given responsibilities. they want to have fun helping, but they don't want to do the work of figuring out how to help. a thread about getting better at asking for help (tldr: make specific, finite asks) https://t.co/QiOI96EABl
I've actually been thinking about this class of problem lately a lot on multiple fronts. 1. people are very bad at asking good questions in general 2. people are very bad at modelling other people's minds 3. as a consequence of 1 + 2, people are very bad at getting help https://t.co/3CwDk72mFX
suicide is considered by many people to be desertion, and is punished as such I believe that it's often a sign of system failure, but the system is designed to deflect and redirect the blame to the individual https://t.co/LbfpWIdlBw
To be clear, I don’t think there needs to be any grand conspiracy theory to maintain this. Although it’s not hard to imagine how it likely started from leaders who wanted compliance. “Glorious leader, our people are killing themselves more than usual. Should we introspect?” https://t.co/lwnYUQ7wkL
Using Mean Girls to appreciate geopolitics; or How State Actors Mimick Teenage Girls https://t.co/fw6yhURqHJ
"Ten biggest ideas that have changed your life" https://t.co/e7ucDX3Zdf
Ooh, this is a fun one. Let me try. Just gonna wing it. 1. The heat death of the universe. Realizing that there is a universal death ahead reinforces the preciousness of every moment. We are all tracings in the sand, so don’t trade a miserable life for a temporary legacy https://t.co/O24uHkih4n