What’s obvious to me isn’t necessarily obvious to you, and the same is true in reverse.
After four years of design school and over a decade working as a design professional, the kerning of typography—especially very bad kerning—stands out to me like a bright yellow warning sign.
Similarly, there are countless knowledge- and experience-based lenses through which you view the world that I lack. Thus, while it may be blindingly obvious to you what species a particular tree is, or whether the wiring on an electrical outlet has been done correctly, to me it’s not.
Our sense of what’s obvious is shaped by the informational landscape in which we exist.
This landscape is made up of the knowledge we possess, but also the stream of news and other up-to-the-minute data we consume, and the set of opinions and biases that exist within our social groups.
Raw facts, then, help determine how we see the world, but so does our peer group’s interpretation of those facts, the media ecosystem in which we spend our time, and other such influences.
It’s self-satisfying but careless to assume that other people who behave in ways we find to be confounding or inexplicable are ignorant, wrong, or morally inept in some way.
Often these people are behaving in accordance with their own sense of morality, values, and understanding of the world. To them, our behaviors are just as bizarre and incomprehensible.
Rather than reflexively passing judgement, then, it’s often more productive to assume that other people are essentially like us: at least in the sense that they’re trying their best to live up to standards that they consider to be correct and good.
If that’s the case, then it’s almost always worth our time to attempt to understand what’s shaping their sense of behavioral rectitude. What’s obvious to them that’s not obvious to us? And which of our obvious things are they lacking?
Taking this analysis a step further, what incentives shape the informational ecosystem in which they exist, which in turn informs their sense of obviousness? Who benefits in what way from them seeing things the way they do?
More difficult, but often even more valuable, is to then flip our scrutiny around and figure out what informs our own informational ecosystem.
Who’s shaping the information we receive and the opinions to which we’re exposed? What might mean for our perception of the world and what’s right? And how should we adjust our behaviors based on this new, broader understanding?
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Outside of Auckland, New Zealand.
Updates
This morning I realized that my colin@brainlenses.com account has been funneling a large number of my incoming emails to a black hole. The issue has been fixed, but I’m very sorry if you emailed me at that address and didn’t hear back: there’s a good chance I didn’t get your missive. I’d love to hear from you if you’d like to write me again, though, at that address or the one I use for this newsletter :)
This week on Brain Lenses, I published an essay about the Intention-Behavior Gap, and a podcast episode about Social Capital.
This week’s episode of Let’s Know Things is about Satellite Imagery.
A huge thanks to everyone who volunteered to take a look at my Curiosity Gadget beta-app this past week! I got some amazing feedback and have some ideas for next-steps; I’ll be working on those this upcoming week.
In the meantime, I’ve got another app concept I’ve been working on called Authorcise, which is meant to help folks start and maintain a daily writing habit.
If you’re interested in seeing what that’s all about and perhaps providing me with some feedback—what you liked, what you didn’t, ideas about what might make it better—pop over to authorcise.com, give it a go, and then let me know what you think.
Community
It’s been fun chatting/sharing over at the forum! And I’ve had several people tell me they’re enjoying the posts, even if they haven’t commented yet, themselves.
You can find it here if you’re keen to check it out and/or participate: NeverNotCurious.com/forum
This week’s prompt is to share a fact or perspective that’s changed your mind or way of seeing the world.
Interesting & Useful
Some neat things worth checking out:
Art Breeder(interesting, participatory art/AI project)
New York Christmas, 1976(home movie-style video shot in NYC)
Wealth, Shown to Scale(effective experiential illustration)
How Scientists Colorize Photos of Space(fantastic video explainer)
Ultra-Detailed Image of “The Night Watch”(zoom waaaay in)
Roden Crater(interview with an artist about his wildly interesting project)
Declassified Imagery from Cold War U2 Spy Planes(good read & photos)
Remember planes? I still marvel that we’re able to fly, and so relatively casually, but I also hope we’ll be able to figure out a way to make this mode of travel more sustainable in the near-future.
Outro
These next few weeks will be interesting as some regions begin to lighten restrictions, others double-down in an attempt to quash predicted pandemic resurgences, and still others instigate half-measures, making no one particularly happy as a consequence.
It’s important to remember, as things ebb and flow, the folks who’ve helped keep society and civilization ticking along at a tolerable level these past few months, and to do what we can to contribute to an even better and more equitable society when we come out the other side—whenever that may be.
How’re things looking in your neck of the woods? Any news on the pandemic and what your country/city/neighborhood will be doing, next?
How’re you feeling, coping, responding on a personal level? Working on anything interesting at the moment?
I respond to every message I get, so please feel free to email me if you’re keen to share, to vent, or to just make a connection with a stranger from the internet for whatever reason. It’s been a very rough couple of months, but it’s important to remember that you’re not alone.
You can also say hello via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or via moth pollinator delivery-bug.
If you’re finding some value in what I’m doing here, consider supporting my work by becoming a patron of my writing, buying a book, or becoming a supporter of Let’s Know Things or Brain Lenses. You can also buy me a coffee if that’s more your thing.