I’d love to say otherwise, but I plead guilty. I invest too little time (and empathy) in really trying to understand people who hold opinions that differ from mine. And of course, I’m not alone. It’s easier to argue against and even easier to write off somebody else’s views than to try to understand what they are based on. That’s what this piece is about. Key passage: «A dare for the next time you’re in discussion with someone you disagree with: Don’t try to ‹win›. Don’t try to convince anyone of your viewpoint. Don’t score points by mocking them to your peers. Instead try to ‹lose›. Hear them out. Ask them to convince you and mean it.»
From Weekly Filet #247, in September 2017.
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I tell you this is a great essay. Then I tell you that I just made up that appraisal, it’s completely random. You still believe me. And now you probably want to read it to understand why.
From Weekly Filet #229, in February 2017.
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What if you countered islamic radicalisation with…empathy? That’s how two Danish policemen started a fascinating experiment in Aarhus, after dozens of young men had gone missing, presumably joining ISIS in Syria. A brilliant episode of the always fascinating Invisibilia podcast.
From Weekly Filet #-1, in August 2016.
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A podcast from the very loved crew at «This American Life». This podcast asks the question why, although we always discuss and argue with people who have different opinions than we have, we never really change our minds. And if, rarely, we do, why that happens.
(Actually, in the process of choosing this link for the Weekly Filet, I first wanted to share a different link; a video showing breathtaking, rare footage of postwar Berlin. But then I changed my mind. Or, as the great spoken word artist Taylor Mali says in one of his most famous poems: «Changing your mind is one of the best ways of figuring out whether or not you still have one.»
From Weekly Filet #207, in May 2015.
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Smart essay on connecting the dots and why predicting the present is nearly as hard as predicting the future.
From Weekly Filet #201, in March 2015.
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«When experts are wrong, it’s often because they’re experts on an earlier version of the world.» One of those thoughts that seem so obvious, but only after somebody else has uttered them. The more you think about it, the bigger it gets.
From Weekly Filet #189, in January 2015.
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I guess you could spend an entire weekend with this exhaustive list of cognitive biases on Wikipedia. It’s fascinating to see in how many different ways humans are inclined to poor judgements. Oh, and if you think most of those biases apply only to other people and not yourself, that’s called the bias blind spot.
From Weekly Filet #44, in November 2011.
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A series of wittily illustrated videos on famous experiments of thought, from half-dead cats to infinitely booked hotels.
From Weekly Filet #40, in October 2011.
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