Separating Our Warriors from Our Scholars Destroys Society.
We need a culture change.
Thucydides’ quote has never rung more true.
It was both shocking and fascinating to see the amount of intellectual cowardice that sprouted up during the Covid Pandemic. Some of the most brilliant minds on the planet were bullied by societal peer-pressure, and they kotowed to the narratives that were coerced upon us all. A residual amount still rings true today (look at Neil deGrasse Tyson, for example, here).
Interestingly, many of those who were both intelligent and courageous enough to swim against these powerful currents during the pandemic were at first punished by the establishment, but then later rewarded by the people. While stalwart institutions such as CNN, Facebook, and more floundered, independent thinkers gained traction. Podcasters, independent journalists, influencers, public speakers and more found fertile ground for blossoming in the aftermath. As the trust in centralized institutions dissolved, people began looking elsewhere.
The inundation of “fact checkers” didn’t help these dying institutions. The trust that people sought after wasn’t just for accurate information all the time. No, the trustworthiness people sought after was simple: Admit when you are wrong. Question results. Be transparent.
The institutions provided none of this, so information-seekers found other more trustworthy sources to get their news.
We often stress the importance of culture here at The Rationalist. Culture is the underlying foundation that the rest of society is built on. This includes our systems and our innovations. For example the culture change of “Cleanliness is Next to Godliness” of the late 1800s brought about the amazing innovations of running potable water, sewers, and trash removal.
Since our society has purposely (and likely nefariously) shifted the culture to what it is today, we want to suggest some ideas to shift it back to once again.
1) Results matter most - We cannot let intentions steer policy. We need to measure results and adjust based on the outcomes. From climate change to the war on drugs… imagine a results driven society.
2) Courage should be honored - This includes intellectual courage as well as physical courage.
3) Innovations that help humanity should be rewarded. People look at things like energy, climate, poverty and more as problems that government should fix. They should really be fixed by ingenuity, invention, and experimentation. Bring back the tinkering innovators, and hold in high esteem those who invent things that help society prosper.
4) Growth Mindset is the best way to learn - This is for adults and children alike, but it should start in schools. Teach children how to independently think. Teach them how to be leaders, how to take risks, how to deal with failure, how to question norms, and more. Scholars who better society are the ones that practice and share the growth mindset.
5) Become Dangerous, but Controlled. Jordan Peterson says it best, here. But basically let’s bring our warriors and scholars back together. Let’s mold an intelligent and courageous society. Being harmless isn’t virtuous. It is only virtuous if you are capable of great harm but keep that under control. As the saying goes, it is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.
Thanks for reading!
As always the entire purpose of The Rationalist is to connect with other solutions-minded results-driven people like yourself! We strive to be a Society of Problem Solvers, and if you align with that we are happy that you’ve joined us. For over 3 billion years on this planet there were only single-celled organisms. Then one day they somehow learned to work together and make complex multi-celled creatures like you and me. Right now we are like those single-celled organisms. Our next evolution is finding how to work together, better… like we wrote about here.
#DecentralizeEverything #Transparency #transparentsystems
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Again, I look to indigenous peoples and their method of government. I just saw a short video on a living man from a U.S. tribe whose genetics go back 17,000 years on this continent. The native cultures were balanced and all were welcome to add input. I am sure this varied from group to group and some were matriarchal. But there is much in their long balanced life on this continent that led to that which need be considered
I would add in a dose of humility. At no point in the past three years discussion did I hear the experts ask, but what if we are wrong? I ask myself that question all of the time and I value criticism to help focus not only the correct answers, but are we asking the correct questions. History is a valuable teacher, but only if we are humble enough to learn from it.
I follow both Jordan Peterson and Jocko Willink and they both are right in line with this post.
Great work on keeping up the posts.