I essentially agree with Costello, but he started off with a painful error. Darwin’s referenced book was titled ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. He carefully avoiding explicit conclusions about the origins of our species . . . Thus not THE SPECIES.
That's a pretty cool article! I've been working my way through a massive "wait but why" series. That author (in chapter 6) reminds me of Joe's way of thinking, for example:
"...Typically, the mainstream ideas are what will be taught in schools, what will appear most often in art, what will dictate broad cultural norms, and what will limit the stances held by national politicians. Even though plenty of individual citizens will disagree with them, the ideas at the top of the Thought Pile are what the big communal brain “thinks” at any given point in time.
To make real, meaningful change in a country, you have to change "the big brain’s" mind.
The modern cigarette was invented in the 1880s and exploded in popularity in the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century. Americans went from smoking an average of 50 cigarettes per adult per year in 1880 to over 2,000 by the mid-1940s. Throughout these decades, it was a mainstream view among Americans that smoking was a relatively harmless habit.
The communal U.S. brain believed that smoking was harmless, and everything else fell in line behind that belief. Ads portraying cigarettes in a positive, beneficial light were everywhere. Cigarettes were culturally cool and commonly associated with movie stars and other icons. You could light up in airplanes, restaurants, offices, hospitals, and most other places. Where the big brain goes, everything else follows.
This viewpoint was born in the early part of the century, when research started to appear linking smoking to all kinds of health problems.
People who had come to believe that smoking is dangerous started talking about it.
Preaching to the choir is generally received well, met with a reaction of love or approval. When your mission is to make people feel great about what they already believe, the MPI is usually a pleasant, friendly place.
But when you tilt the angle of that megaphone towards people who don’t agree with you, the MPI becomes a gauntlet..."
I essentially agree with Costello, but he started off with a painful error. Darwin’s referenced book was titled ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. He carefully avoiding explicit conclusions about the origins of our species . . . Thus not THE SPECIES.
That's a pretty cool article! I've been working my way through a massive "wait but why" series. That author (in chapter 6) reminds me of Joe's way of thinking, for example:
"...Typically, the mainstream ideas are what will be taught in schools, what will appear most often in art, what will dictate broad cultural norms, and what will limit the stances held by national politicians. Even though plenty of individual citizens will disagree with them, the ideas at the top of the Thought Pile are what the big communal brain “thinks” at any given point in time.
To make real, meaningful change in a country, you have to change "the big brain’s" mind.
The modern cigarette was invented in the 1880s and exploded in popularity in the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century. Americans went from smoking an average of 50 cigarettes per adult per year in 1880 to over 2,000 by the mid-1940s. Throughout these decades, it was a mainstream view among Americans that smoking was a relatively harmless habit.
The communal U.S. brain believed that smoking was harmless, and everything else fell in line behind that belief. Ads portraying cigarettes in a positive, beneficial light were everywhere. Cigarettes were culturally cool and commonly associated with movie stars and other icons. You could light up in airplanes, restaurants, offices, hospitals, and most other places. Where the big brain goes, everything else follows.
This viewpoint was born in the early part of the century, when research started to appear linking smoking to all kinds of health problems.
People who had come to believe that smoking is dangerous started talking about it.
Preaching to the choir is generally received well, met with a reaction of love or approval. When your mission is to make people feel great about what they already believe, the MPI is usually a pleasant, friendly place.
But when you tilt the angle of that megaphone towards people who don’t agree with you, the MPI becomes a gauntlet..."
https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/09/american-brain.html