I speak and write on the topic of critical thinking. One of the many curious questions that put me on this path was “is polarisation (ideas/political), a byproduct of the absence of critical thinking? The answer, yes, it is. Our memories make up our past, present, and future, they are quite literally the template of your life. How you grew up, your family, religious views, socio economic class and social cohorts, all make up the program that is uniquely you. The only pitfall to this, is without conscious intervention, your present and future become dictated by past events, people, and belief systems. Scientists estimate that 90 – 95% of the decisions we make, are made unconsciously, these decisions are largely informed by the past. What’s worse, is our memories are not filled with stoic images, they are emotional epicentres. Our identities, self-esteem, social conditioning, are intertwined in these epicentres. That is why conditioning and bias are so powerful. This is not a glitch in our neurological systems, it’s the byproduct of our identities, and self-esteem. I often describe, critical thinking, as a superpower because it’s highly effective in interrupting these unconscious blueprints and enabling them to be refreshed and even rewritten. You don’t have to turn on the news or read the comments section in a media post (my advice, just don’t) to observe unconscious behaviour play out; in my experience you can find this much closer to home.
Unnecessary Outrage
I live in a laid-back quaint neighbourhood. My little no-through street is home to young professionals, retirees, and families. The street is largely absent from neighbourly disputes, or problematic visitors. It’s quiet, and for all intense and purposes blissfully boring. I work from home, between meetings, I commonly go for a walk to clear my head. I typically avoid conversations during this but on one particular day my neighbour was actively seeking me out. She was in a fit of anger, her voice tone was elevated, her posture strained, she was noticeably upset. Given this particular neighbour is the human embodiment of sunshine, this was out of character. Logically, I asked her what was wrong? What could possibly have forced her to go so far astray from her happy self? She had just had coffee with a friend, and they were discussing the state of the world. She then jumped into an elaborate story about Elon Musk at odds with NASA. She was outraged by Elon’s behaviour; he was actively thwarting NASA’s ability to run their own space program. Yet another Billionaire thinking he can do whatever he wants. A complete disregard and lack of respect for political institutions and the people that make them up. Who does Musk think he is?
Luckily, I am a self-professed NASA nerd. This was a topic; I had somewhat of an informed view on. NASA and SpaceX have a symbiotic relationship. NASA has paid billions to SpaceX. While Elon is a divisive character, SpaceX has a financial dependency on NASA. It would not be in Elon’s best interest, or self-driven purpose to thwart NASA’s plans. When I outlined this to her, her rage dissipated. Her normal tone of voice restored; her body posture returned to a leisurely stance. She admitted that she hadn’t looked too deep into the topic. This was largely hearsay from a friend. Who apparently had the same level of outrage I found my neighbour in. The simple sentiment that Musk was actively subverting NASA’s plans was enough to turn a happy person into a very unhappy one.
“Hearsay” can spark outrage, whether that comes from a social connection, a media outlet or an algorithm. It drives us to engage in real emotions that have physical, mental and emotional consequences. Yet most of hearsay is based on untruths, partial truths or misconceptions. We can sidestep these experiences entirely, by suspending the urge to take hearsay at its word. A healthy dose of speculation can be a good thing. My neighbour was caught in the trappings of the template she has forged of the world. The view that world can be an unfair place. That people with money and power can do whatever they want whenever they please. That narrative is so enshrined in her memory that any hint of it, in her present life, sparks outrage.
We all have these patterns, these conditioned blueprints of how things were, that translate to how things are. In reality, how things were, rarely translate to the present. Critical thinking is not just an activity for the big decisions we make in life but how we choose to respond to the small ones. The ones that seem inconsequential, but act as the bedrock of our lives. Before taking the bait, ask the question why? Why am I reacting this way, and is this information even true? Can it be true, or has this been taken out of context? In consulting, we commonly use the rule of three, or "data triangulation" can I find this same statistic, event, or viewpoint in three other non-related sources? If I can't, its likely it's unreliable. If I can, and the event is true, is it worth becoming outraged over? If it still is, at least you will have a clear reason on why and what you intend on doing about it.
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