22 Mental Models from 2022 (Part 2)
Insights from philosophy, geopolitics, religion, and more
Hello hello,
It’s been a fantastic year. I not only started writing this newsletter but also launched our first book ‘Think Like The Minimalist’. Initially I thought that my mom and I would be the only ones to read it but thankfully that’s not the case. Thousands have embraced the art and science of Minimalist thinking, and if you’re a curious/creative person interested in learning more, grab your copy here.
If you missed Part 1 of 22 Mental Models from 2022, you can read it here. Onto the other ones now, because I’ve already wasted more time than the sales guy who asks “How are you?” to all 9 participants at the start of a client meeting:
Decolonization of the Indian mind: Unfortunately, the Indian mind has been deeply colonized due to a millennium of brutal subjugation. Western colonizers created a false dichotomy which led to our own ideas being branded as inferior ones but that is far from the truth. Indian philosophy has a deeply spiritual tradition of working towards enlightenment. These ideas have tremendous value but since the colonizers thought in dichotomies, these ideas were termed ‘unscientific’ and ‘regressive’ and the Western materialist worldview became the only game in town. There are 2 things we must realize. One, we have systematically been pushed into thinking that a lot of our ideas are ‘folk theories’ and don’t stand up to scrutiny, but that’s erroneous. Secondly, there’s tremendous value in India’s intellectual tradition (and I have already written about one such technique of attaining deep, experiential wisdom) that we must explore with an open mind. Ironically, dichotomizing and dividing the world into black and white is termed avidya in Indian intellectual traditions.
Early Indians- There is a raging debate going on about the origin of Indians. Curious to get some answers to this question, I read the book ‘Early Indians’ which proposes the idea of an Aryan migration from the Eurasian Steppes into India, who mixed with the Harrappans to form the Ancestral North Indians. It also proposes that these people moved southwards as their civilization went through a phase of decline. When they mixed with the First Indians present in the southern parts of the country, they became the Ancestral South Indians. However, there’s an opposing camp that strongly refutes all claims of such an Aryan migration or invasion. I’ll certainly be exploring this debate further this year.
The True Believer: In what might have been one of the best books of the year, I found some timeless wisdom on what really makes mass movements and violent revolutions tick. Leaders like Hitler and Mussolini were astute psychologists, and they deftly manipulated the minds of the archetype that is known as ‘The True Believer’ in order to advance their movements.
So who exactly is the true believer? It’s the frustrated individual who believes that his/her life has been spoiled beyond repair. He has a deep sense of resentment for the bleak circumstances of life and immediately latches on to a movement that promises utopia- an escape from the current conditions and a pathway to a promising future. What’s essential is a total lack of perspective on how hard it is to overthrow the current order and truly build something better- which is why some of the major revolutions have often been led by those without any experience in politics. This is a truly deep idea that sheds light on the human condition, and I’ll build on this in a much more detailed piece very soon.
A TB in action Small Identity: Why do arguments on politics/religion never tend to go anywhere? It’s often because the argument isn’t really about those subjects- and is rather perceived as an attack on one’s personal identity. All of us have an identity stack (which is often quite visible on LinkedIn and Twitter bios), and religious and political affiliations often come at the very top. We attach ourselves to these ideas and make them a part of ourselves in a way that any criticism of those ideas is a criticism of our own selves- an attack that we can’t tolerate. It’s essential, therefore, to have a small identity in order to think clearly and truly evaluate ideas/systems without letting our identities (and emotions) get into the fray. Take this one step ahead, and you get to the Buddhist idea of ‘no-self’, which is even more profound but can hardly be understood intellectually.
Cyclical vs Cumulative knowledge: So many things about the world have drastically changed. Doctors have started using gloves because they realized how germs killed patients. Or how electricity was considered dangerous but now powers much of our world. This is the power of cumulative knowledge- proven, scientific ideas that seamlessly get passed down through generations so they don’t have to be reinvented, and drastically increase the standard of living.
However, some things still haven’t changed. We still have stock market bubbles, we still succumb to envy and lust, and we continue to make reckless financial decisions. That’s because insights in these fields aren’t hardcore scientific ideas that can be passed down. They have to be experienced firsthand and are often driven by specific, individual circumstances. Depressions make people conservative and financially prudent- but since the next generation has never seen the bad times, they’re once again prone to the same recklessness and greed which leads to the next big bubble. Some ideas are truly cyclical. That is exactly why the end-goal of this newsletter is the cultivation of wisdom from the never-ending stock of lessons humans have learned through the millennia, so the mistakes don’t have to be repeated over and over again.Dualism and destruction- This was quite a revelation for me. Philosophers like Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes championed the dismissal of animist philosophies, which consider animals, plants, and other parts of nature also as living spirits and humans as just one part of this web of life. They did so by branding these ideas as heathen/unscientific, thereby providing exactly the right kind of fodder to the capitalist system.
The '“Mind is superior to matter” idea is just what capitalists needed in order to intensify their plunder of the natural world and reduce all forms of lives (including ‘lowly’ humans who were only meant for labor') to mere ‘resources’, intended for the purpose of enhancing profits. In a twisted episode, dualist ideology was conveniently recruited by capitalists to wreak untold levels of destruction and begin an unprecedented level of exploitation.Sci-Fi as a tool for philosophy: Philosophy sounds difficult and boring. But what if there was an interesting way to philosophize- to peel the layers and try to attempt to answer the big questions in an interesting, thought-provoking manner? That’s exactly what science fiction has to offer. For instance, take Ken Liu’s The Regular, which offers an interesting thriller-esque narrative while making one think about the role of brain and body implants that enhance our capabilities and offers a way for us to think about whether we’d really be better off with them, or if they’d change what it means to be human for the worse. Or consider Ted Chiang’s Liking What You See, an excellent short story on what the world would be like if we could all use tech that prevents humans from judging everyone based on good looks and beauty. Sci-Fi is a potent tool to negotiate with the big questions by diving deep into subjective human emotions and perspectives and consuming all of these in an engaging story format.
Geography shapes history: Why did Europe take the lead and emerge as the most prosperous of all? Probably because of the superb geography that made it conducive to the rapid spread of agriculture. Why does Russia want to keep its Western neighbors under control? Because without doing so, Moscow remains highly vulnerable to conquest, and its history of invasions from Napoleon to Hitler has made them rather wary. Why is China so anal about controlling Tibet? Because it’s the water clock of the country, and having any external influence can spell doom. Regardless of technology’s ability to transcend the limitations of geography, it always has and will continue to play a critical role in the destinies of nations…and their neighbors.
Religion as a relationship: What role does religion really play in the lives of humans? There have been various theories. Some suggest that it offered comfort to us as we constantly suffered disasters (drought, cyclone, etc). Others suggest that it evolved as a way to solve the free-rider problem and got people to prove their morality by carrying out physically taxing rituals that signaled their commitment and hence proved their moral status. One interesting proposition which seems to be true across all such explanations is that at its core, religion is a way for us to relate- to others and to the supernatural.
Neuroimaging studies have shown that the same parts of the brain activate during prayer that do when we’re conversing with friends. Many people who turn to religion do so to fill the gap created by the lack of an adequate human relationship. That’s why you see people ‘talking’ to God as if they’re actually a person. The RaaR model is quite an interesting way to interpret the role and value of religion. More on this soon.The Netflix way: One of this year’s big revelations was that a truly successful global corporation can actually be built by loosening up as many corporate controls as possible and trusting people to do what’s best for the business. That’s exemplified by Netflix’s radical culture of ‘Freedom and Responsibility’ which sounds like the stuff of fantasies…except it’s actually true. Just imagine- no travel approvals, unlimited vacation whenever you want, getting paid 20% higher than the highest offer you could get- how the hell does a company not get buried alive pulling off such ideas? That’s what makes Netflix exceptional. It also proves that humans can truly be organized in a way that maximizes their autonomy, remuneration, AND their company’s success.
The Great Power Cycle: You may have heard so many quotes on this. History repeats itself. History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes. Blah blah blah. But there seems to be an element of truth to this, especially when you look at it from the perspective of the rise and fall of the great powers. First came the Dutch empire, which rose to prominence on the back of inventive shit like publicly traded companies and awesome ships. The Brits got jealous as hell and copied the crap out of their tech, thus undercutting them and eventually beating them at their own game. This led to the rise of the Brits, who then buckled under the weight of their own excesses, leading to the postwar era of Pax Americana. And we all know the Chinese challenge they’re facing today. Similar factors (education, inventiveness, rising trade, etc) have led to their rise and their eventual fall (massive wealth and value gaps, bad financial conditions, and an external trigger that breaks the camel’s back).
That’s it folks. If there are any thought-provoking/profound ideas you’ve picked up this year, I’d love to hear about them.
As always, share this article on your office Slack group so your boss knows you’re smarter than him. And if you aren’t on the email list- you know what to do.