Reading Group Meeting #2 (Second Look)

This is the second installment of some notes and questions for the autumn reading group on this book (first post is here).

For this meeting we cover Part II- Thinking and Believing and Part III- Health and Safety.

Chapter 5 Creativity 

This chapter focuses on the story of Dick Fosbury, credited with transforming the way high jumpers attempted to clear the bar and who won the gold medal with this new technique in 1968.  Jumping over the bar with this technique is now standard, but it wasn't before Fosbury did it.  The authors note the following key elements of the success story of Fosbury and the "Fosbury-flop":

(1) need:  he was not very good at the forward-facing high jump.  If he excelled in that form of jump, there would have been no incentive to innovate!  So he experienced frustration with the traditional jump techniques.  This is a key element.

(2) ambition:  need is not sufficient (most of us are not accomplished forward-facing jumpers!)  Fosbury also possessed a strong determination to improve with his jumping skills.  

(3) small changes in the environment:  innovative thinking also requires some "nudge"- such as a small change in the environment.  In this case new landing surfaces made of soft foam rubber had replaced saw dust and wood-chip landing surfaces.  This change made it conceivable to innovate from landing on one's feet to one's back.

New environments stimulate flexible thinking.  The author's also note that a large literature also backs the contention that physical activity also boosts creativity. These things "gear the mind for change".

Question:  Reflect on your own experience of "creative thinking":  what things do you think either facilitate, or obstruct, your creativity?  I know for me, when I travel to live somewhere new for a few months of sabbatical I have my most productive research output (though many factors contribute to this).  I certainly observe a correlation between "novelty of experience" and "higher creativity/productivity".  What works to help you get out of a "rut"?

Chapter 6:  Lying

The brain habituates to lying.  So you want to prevent yourself or children from slipping from small little lies, which (once your brain habituates to the discomfort of lying) can lead to bigger and more frequent lies. The authors contend this has important political consequences in a "post-truth era".  Exaggerating facts to make one's point more interesting has become the norm.  The authors mention this Ricky Gervais movie- The Invention of Lying. 

Chapter 7:  (Mis)Information

The authors note that when falsehoods are repeated, eventually people come to think they are true.  Our brains habituate, initially being sceptical when we hear something new and/or surprising.  But as it becomes more familiar, this scepticism subsides. The authors argue that we function with a "familiar, truthier" heuristic. To try to incentivize accuracy, the authors suggest we may prompt people to consider just the accuracy of single statements (which could be enough to shift mindsets), or reward reliability by rewarding/punishing people for sharing true or false information online (strikes me as inherently problematic, presupposing that some admin overlord has the "book of truth and falsity" that they can then be impartially applied to steer the ignorant masses straight).

I found the gloss analysis of both lying and misinformation somewhat superficial.  I think lying/distortions/manipulations are much more pervasive and innate in our social nature.  Gossip, for example, is pervasive and serves many functions.  It is not touched on in the book, though I think is more representative of the lying and misinformation we habituate into our social lives.  It is so habituated that perhaps it wasn't something the authors thought to include in the book.  I would have liked to see the authors stretch their focus on habituation, moving away from the more obvious topical political examples.

Question:  Do you see the spread of misinformation online as a distinctive and pressing threat to the health of democracy?  Is it any different than the traditional ways in which misinformation has long been disseminated (e.g. through in-person conversations, radio, TV, etc.)?  Are attempts to police online social media posts for "accuracy" part of the ongoing "culture wars" (with the left and right both trying to suppress the information they feel is "misinformation"), or something the state must be proactive about to ensure modern democracy's can flourish?  

Chapter 8:  Risk

Risk habituation is the focus of this chapter.  People often rely on their feelings to assess risk, the more we habituate to the feelings of risky actions the more frequent and risky our behaviors may become.  We are more alarmed by new and unfamiliar risks (e.g. COVID).  The authors contend that the slogan "scared by the new, bold with the old" is an outgrowth of habituation.

When the Swedes switched from driving on the right side of the road to the left, there were less accidents and fatalities.  Why caused this counterintuitive result?  Risk dishabituation.  Two years latter the accidents and fatalities had returned to the baseline before the change.

A take home prescription the author's make is to "shake things up", by changing the environment, if you want to reduce risk.

Chapter 9: Environment

In this chapter authors explore how past exposure- to air pollution, light pollution, and water pollution- helps us adapt to these strains unconsciously.  

I'll share one personal example of this- in 2018 I lived in Hawaii for 3 months.  I lived in a small room, with only a bed, office desk and chair and bathroom.  There was no air conditioning and it was hot the whole time I lived there.  For the first week or two I would sweat a lot just laying on my bed.  I had to have two fans turned on full blast to feel somewhat comfortable.  And yet after that initial period I stopped perceiving the heat.  This was a real surprise.  After a month I forget that Hawaii was actually a hot place to live!

Question:  Can you think of any unpleasant experiences you have been adle to adapt to?  Or perhaps some things you have found challenging to adapt to?

Cheers, 

Colin