And not fall into extremism, one meme at a time, By Matthew Hill
#culture #diversity #politics #cult #extremism #agitator #activist #intelligence
Flow – The Art of Critical Thinking in a Biased World
How do we make up our minds on issues? – Are we free to form our opinion away from the influence of others? N0. There will be bias – yours, the story itself, some strange anonymous movement promoting their cause, the media bringing it to you, and probably your peers’ magnetic pull towards their own group agenda as well, just for good measure.
How can you stay clean?
How can you steer clear of being manipulated by revolutionary forces or being used to add your body and mind to a dangerous and destabilising mob?
Skewed intake is fine but not FINAL.
Let the initial flow occur. No sweat. Just know that this is the start of an information ratification, verification and counter referencing process that will lead you to somewhere of much greater value. You are not just a deeply engrained follower that has willingly their suppressed the expression of your true values, sublimated your powers of independent thought and hushed your voice in order to be accepted by a cult-like group of overconfident, over simplifiers who see everything through just one lens. They are like a hammer and everything that is reported on must be a nail. Your eyes remain open and ready to take in the whole view from the panorama in front of you.
Bias
There will be emotion, opinion, facts, non-facts, made up sh*t, spin, manipulation, influencing mechanisms in play, etc.
START
2nd Sources – Your mainstream media cannot be relied upon any more to do this old fashioned thing called JOURNALISM. Instead they select the stories that are congruent with the prearranged and prewritten narrative, they process the story to limit the focus, report from only one point of view and they do this to excite the marginal viewers and listeners, aligned with the stated politics of the channel. This is to grab what little of the revenue and the limited number of available eye balls they can from a pot and a pool that is becoming ever drained and smaller as it is spread ever wider.
Seeking out the counternarrative
Now, I want you to change your habits from the last 7 years. Do not just let your algorithm feed you ever more conformational materials to deepen your polarity on the issue of the day, but to seek out the counternarrative, the view from another side or the other side!
Without getting too Bayesian theorem on you, you start at 100% your point of view and 0% the other point of view.
As you explore, the gold nuggets of truth and reality from the other side may add up and change your certainty, reducing it down from 100%. You may shift to 70% your side and 30% the other side. AND THAT IS OK.
You don’t have to be polar on ANYTHING. You are not a fanatic, obsessive or a totally captured cult member.
Free Thinker
The mobile, mature, intelligent adult can move across the larger expanse of the information landscape and territory, take in what they have to, whilst maintaining their core values, and remembering their anchored base.
They will become more nuanced, easily able to acknowledge the value that is found in both places. You can now COMFORTABLY come down, probably on your original side. But without shouting, decapitating institutions, dividing families or rushing out to buy jackboots or getting a septum piercing and dying your hair blue. You are freed from polar hate and polar madness. You can be a balanced intelligent human being, suffering from a lot less stress and anxiety.
Have you read this far?
Thank you for being a rational human adult and not allowing yourself to be converted into a useful idiot by some mysterious movement or other.
Stay free peeps
Stay balanced and stay in control of your actions and the consequences of those actions.
All the best,
Matthew
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