I have been thinking for quite some time now about the following topics. I will be drafting the ideas around it in this newsletter, one by one, week per week.
I would be happy to receive your feedback on it as the group of people receiving this newsletter has grown to almost 50 people.
Afterward, I will work on your feedback and line out a full post on it.
I am planning to revise my website because I am not happy about the UX of reading. But that is just another idea. So let's dive into a new Renaissance vs. Conformism debate.
Introduction
Throughout my life, things have gotten weirder and more confusing. The more I have learned about what's happening in the world, the less I understand why people behave the way they do.
The clearer I get about what is important while living your only life, I feel more estranged about what is taught and taken away from our educational systems, media/content produced/consumed, and what is discussed by regular people on a regular basis.
Usually, people are far too focused on what is in front of them, (re)acting to things that happen to them, making decisions unconsciously about what to think, to say, and to do. What I am missing most of the time is a meta-reflection on why you do what you do. I call this category (for lack of better words) of living "Numbing Hedonism".
Fewer people are far too focused on meta-reflection, the "big picture". Where do I want to be, what do I want to be like, how should I be perceived by people. I am absolutely one of those people. I don't know anybody who has so many ideas, thoughts, interests, intentions, and motivations which are all clashing with each other wherefore I do not progress on any of the things. I call this category "Imposting Rationalism".
The problem with both groups is the missing "feeling yourself".
- The hedonists are so overpumped by stimuli and dopamine that they feel numb when they are not consuming a stimulus (sugar, drugs, tv, social media). The paradox: They become more and more afraid of actual healthy stimuli like physical contact with others and meaningful discussions about emotions.
- The rationalists are so overthinking their plans that they rationalize everything they do with "a bigger plan" although they did not have it when they started that particular behavior. The paradox: They become overwhelmed by healthy, close contact with others because they overthink the "concept" of how they want to be received.
Of course, both concepts of humans are the extreme poles on a frame of reference, and most people are pending in between the poles. Some might be hedonists during the week and rationalists during the weekend.
Between both groups is a constant tension.
- The rationalists are looking down on the hedonists, may laugh about their unawareness, about their biases, the irrational opinions, and their missing context for the bigger picture.
- The hedonists are punching up, saying that rationalists are idealists, far away from reality, arrogant, and are not enjoying life.
Self-experiment: Observe yourself, reflect on your thoughts when you watch other people in everyday behavior, and catch yourself moving into one of the two very judgemental mindsets.
What I am constantly asking myself: How can I get the positive out of both mindsets to maximize the quality of my life?
The Post-Rationalists
Because both mindsets have their legitimate reasons to exist:
- You need to be aware of the consequences of your actions.
- But you also need to let go of having the urge to control the consequences all the time, to enjoy a moment.
As I was more on the overthinking side of things, I also surrounded myself with people who were supporting the mindset. This led to me also consuming most of the time content from this intellectual direction. Famous people in this field include
For a more comprehensive view of the Rationalist landscape: Via the Slate Star Codex blog
But I was never too happy with any of this stuff because it contained an overly logical approach to life. It lacked some of my favorite stuff like feelings, intuition, mystery (like consciousness), subjective perception, and metaphysical things like values. I think [[Tiago Forte]] summarized it well:
"They still believed in reason, but saw “Cognitive Biases” not as problems to be eradicated, but as mysteries to be explored."
That was the moment when I discovered Venkatesh Rao and his blog Ribbonfarm, which is a revelation because it argues that perspective is the greatest source of economic value nowadays. Thus giving you the connection of the two mindsets mentioned above.
To grasp just a small insight into why he is one of the greatest thinkers of our time, you may read the article A Brief History of the Corporation, which gives you his view on the development of organizations from 1600 until 2100.
That is what I wanted to share with you this week. Next week I will offer an insight into what the processing of history means for today's context with flip-flopping between the groups mentioned above.
Let me know your thoughts!
What I am currently listening to
I am in love with Madame, who is an Italian artist and part of the "new wave" in Italian music.
Traditionally, the music is still about love, but the style is very different from what I "know" as Italian music, which I experienced through my father's CDs.
If you want to listen to her music, feel free to give it a shot: Spotify Playlist
My faves are "Voce", "Sciccherie" and "17". "Sciccherie" has become famous because of an Instagram video by Cristiano Ronaldo, listening to it & singing along.