It’s said that we live in the Information Age. Yet what is the purpose of information? I see at least three possibilities… First, information can make our decision more effective, especially regarding threats and opportunities. Is that sound in the forest a predator from which I should flee? Is this fruit edible? Does this potentialContinue reading “Information is Overrated”
Category Archives: Habits
I Get Around
As a brief addendum to my post about digital moderation, I’ll mention another longtime habit of mine: analog wayfinding. I have never used automated navigation systems like GPS; instead, if I’m going someplace new I look at a map beforehand and commit the route to memory. (For example, last year I drove from Camden, MaineContinue reading “I Get Around”
Of Cigarettes and Smartphones
Have you ever watched an old movie from perhaps 75 years ago in which it seems that everyone was smoking cigarettes? We – who are, of course, far wiser – shake our heads at their benighted behavior because we recognize the horrendous health effects of smoking. But have you ever wondered what folks 75 yearsContinue reading “Of Cigarettes and Smartphones”
The Emergency Disaster Crisis
One reason I don’t pay much attention to the news is that just about everything being reported on is an emergency, a disaster, a crisis! I like to run them all together and say that we’re in the midst of an Emergency Disaster Crisis. Naturally, what you consider part of the Emergency Disaster Crisis is aContinue reading “The Emergency Disaster Crisis”
What Is the Job of a News Story?
Over the last few months I’ve blatantly but deliberately gone off my low-information diet – not because I suddenly feel a need to be highly informed, but because I’m advising Otherweb, a startup that aims to fix the world’s information ecosystem by presenting only those news stories that are provably lacking in sensationalistic language, partisanContinue reading “What Is the Job of a News Story?”
Political Moderation
Here in America we’ve survived another national election (yet again the most momentous in our history!), so following up on my post last week about moderation it seems timely to offer a few reflections on political and ideological moderation. Having been a dogmatic libertarian earlier in my life, I well understand the allure of politicalContinue reading “Political Moderation”
Agreement Is Overrated
How many times has a friend sent you a link to an essay with the proviso “I don’t agree with everything this person says, but it’s worth reading”? I used to do that, too, but then I reflected on whether intellectual agreement is truly important, and I concluded that it’s not. Part of the storyContinue reading “Agreement Is Overrated”
Controversies
While reading the autobiography of Charles Darwin a few weeks ago, I came across the following passage: I rejoice that I have avoided controversies, and this I owe to [Charles] Lyell, who many years ago, in reference to my geological works, strongly advised me never to get entangled in a controversy, as it rarely didContinue reading “Controversies”
Mental Junk Food
These days every article, video, podcast, or tweet needs to scream for your attention. Even worse, much of what you’re shown online is determined by algorithms that put a premium on popularity, which is itself driven by the all-too-human feelings of greed for sensation and fear of disaster. In this brave new world of ours,Continue reading “Mental Junk Food”
Peter Saint-Andre, Philosopher-Coach 