[Make a fact hit harder by converting units into everyday objects: from “One large tree removes 2.2M BTU from the Earth’s atmosphere” to “One large tree is equivalent to 10 air conditioning units”; “0.1 square miles of the Amazon are destroyed every minute” to “50 soccer fields worth of the Amazon are destroyed every minute”; “Carbon savings of 800,000 tonnes per year” to “Carbon savings equal to 450,000 fewer cars on the road per year”.]
[A given name like ‘honour killings’ portrays that violence as somehow different than in the occidental nations: more barbaric and primitive. Is ours any better?]
[1. What is the difference between hearing and endorsing a dangerous idea? 2. Should we hear them or not, and why? 3. Is it possible to discuss them productively?]
[Strengthening an argument doesn’t make it more threatening.]
[Appreciate disagreements; notice and address anxiety.]
[Systemic issues stick when their disagreements are stuck in unproductive states or off limits of discussion.]
[Put half a lemon in a Ziploc plastic bag and fill with vinegar, then tie to let your shower head soak inside for about an hour to descale and remove dirt inside.]
I changed the game from “online debate” to “potluck at my house.” I changed the goal from “let’s debate ideas” to “let’s enjoy each other’s company while having a stimulating conversation.” I changed the conversational medium from “type into a comment text box” to “discuss over food and drink.” And I changed the question from “What do you believe?” to the biggest unanswered question in my own head: “What’s the endgame for the gun-control debate?”
[By realizing that we knew less, we felt somehow wiser.]
A traditional essay makes a single case and puts all its weight behind it. A problem brief collects the best proposals [and criticisms] that attempt to answer the open question. That means it might have two or five or a hundred different proposals, each with supporting evidence and proposed actions, each a result of a collaboration between supporters and opponents.
[Focus on end-games instead of arguing specific points.]
the low doorway is meant to remind guests to enter with respect.
And so we struggle to reach out, and to respond with our fragile hurting brains. We want connection, and we also find the possibility potentially very difficult when we’re not doing so well. After all, if you invite someone over, they will see your messy house, and maybe judge you. And everyone’s “house” is a mess right now in one way or another.
love the hack to reach out right before ‘correspondence bankruptcy’ to reduce pressure on the recipient 👍🏽 i also try to generally cultivate a norm of ’no response necessary’ with anything i send; if it’s urgent i’ll call or say so.
this made me reflect on my frequent desire for solitude, often by saying or feeling that ‘my social cup is full’. i never thought that it might cost me some ‘social muscles’ but i can see that as a possibility if it goes on for too long. nevertheless, i’d like to think that i know when i want to have company and when not, that i have good judgement in balancing this within myself.
in what seems to now be a previous life, where i felt an overwhelming lack of social interaction, friendship, or companionship, i practiced what i called ‘shake the tree’ once or twice a year: dm everyone with warm wishes and my current city. many were happy i sent this, many reacted with a simple emoji, many didn’t respond, but it generally felt worthwhile for me.
A new world is being born. It is a world where the old rules, more often honored in the breach than the observance, no longer matter. It is a world where vast bureaucratic structures and technologically advanced systems carry out in public view vast killing projects. The industrialized nations, weakened, fearful of global chaos, are sending an ominous message to the Global South and anyone who might think of revolt — we will kill you without restraint.
Evil is protean. It mutates. It finds new forms and new expressions. Germany orchestrated the murder of six million Jews, as well as over six million Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, communists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Freemasons, artists, journalists, Soviet prisoners of war, people with physical and intellectual disabilities and political opponents. It immediately set out after the war to expiate itself for its crimes. It deftly transferred its racism and demonization to Muslims, with racial supremacy remaining firmly rooted in the German psyche.
Germany today is Israel’s second largest arms supplier following the U.S.