The human dichotomy
This thought occurred to me while travelling at around 850 kmph at 10,000m while it’s -40 deg outside. I was tucking into my second generous pour of merlot from the wonderful AirNZ cabin staff while watching a James Bond, having munched down a tasty lasagna that I didn’t have to lift a finger to get delivered to my lap.
I marvelled at how we can do this. It is a massive feat of ingenuity to hurl over 300 people in complete comfort through the sky to a destination that would be weeks away if we took terrestrial transport. Our ability to fly around the world in comfort and safety is taken for granted, given how common and accessible it is.
I was spouting forth on the cleverness of humans to create this experience to my lovely wife. She provided me with the counterpoint; we also can be monumentally stupid. Exhibit A - our propensity to wreak destruction on people who may disagree with our views. Exhibit B - the Darwin Awards.
This thought was compounded by watching the movie Oppenheimer. I saw extreme cleverness in using uranium and plutonium to create an explosive chain reaction, and extreme stupidity in using that technology to destroy two cities and end the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
As a race, we are a huge danger to ourselves. Yet we do not seem to have worked this out. But it’s not us, it’s the other guys who are the problem. The curious thing is, it’s not like we don’t know about the yawning flaws in our psychology. Behavioural science has documented this thoroughly. Here are a few:
A biggie is confirmation bias, where we look for evidence to confirm our existing beliefs (rather than to disconfirm).
We have self-serving bias. This is where we are wired to attribute good outcomes to our genius and our bad outcomes to externalities, regardless of the true cause.
There is the fundamental attribute error, where we tend to attribute others' actions to their character rather than considering the context of the situation.
Then there’s the Dunning-Kruger effect, where the less you know about something, the more confident you are in your understanding of it.
The list goes on……
This says that at a general level, we are complete strangers to the concept of self-awareness. We believe our own bullshit. I’m as guilty as anyone. I think my ideas are always the bomb. But as I’ve got a few more miles under my belt, I’ve come to realise that may not always be the case.
‘Strong beliefs, held lightly’ is a doctrine I try to subscribe to. If you seek to be proven wrong, you will always be learning and avoid getting stuck in that rut of comfortable ignorance (which is a large sucker - probably of similar proportions to the Grand Canyon!).
The problem is, we prefer the easy options. The stairs or the elevator? (Have a count the next time you’re at an airport.) It takes conscious effort to choose the more rewarding route. So our challenge is to find comfort in effort.
How does one make the harder choice the preferred choice? Sleep in, or hit the gym? One more beer, or go home? Listen to an opposing view with an open mind, or dismiss it as wrong? Question your belief, or relax in the assumption that you could not be wrong?
The thing I find that works best is to shift your perspective from short to long term. I do this by consulting with my future self. What would a 10-year-older Andrew choose? He is far wiser than I. To be fair, I don’t always take his advice, but I know he’s usually on the money. (Pro tip - I also sometimes consult 10-year-old Andrew as he gives a handy perspective!)
This is all easier said than done. But you strengthen what you practice (and remember, this cuts both ways!).
