23 Ideas From 2023 (Part 2)
Science, philosophy, anthropology, and more
Hello readers,
I hope you enjoyed the first part of 23 Ideas From 2023. It’s time to dive into the remaining 12 concepts that’ll definitely make you think.
Let’s go:
The Magic of Placebo: We can recover from illnesses even when we’re given fake pills. This is called the placebo effect. But the rabbit hole goes deeper. The size, color, taste, and usage frequency of a pill can affect the recovery process- which means that pills aren’t just about their medical properties but also help with the psychological expectancy that they create. Moreover, this effect occurs even if the patient knows they’re being given a dummy pill!
Personal History: As important as it is to learn the lessons of history, I propose that we also write our own personal histories. Document your life’s events, ideas, thoughts, desires, goals, and frustrations regularly. Do it so your future self can laugh heartily while reading these entries. Do it so you can notice the impermanent nature of everything you experienced- from the depressing lows to the jubilant highs. And do it to escape the many fabrications of memory we succumb to, so we can look back at our lives and observe them exactly as they were.
The Inevitability Of Wars: When 5 hungry men in a jungle decide to coordinate to trap a stag and relieve their hunger, one of them spots a rabbit and diverts his energies to kill it so he can feed himself, leaving the rest of them in the lurch. Jean-Jacques Rousseau used this story to suggest that it’s our social circumstances that lead to war. In an international system of anarchy where all states act in autonomous ways to pursue their national interests and use force wherever needed in the absence of an arbitrator, the rules of game theory dictate that it’s hard to create harmony. The nature of this reality, combined with the quirks of human nature and the political systems it creates, makes warfare a constant possibility.
Orwell’s Hypothesis On Bullshit Jobs: George Orwell believed that the proliferation of so many pointless jobs was perhaps a way to keep the masses exceedingly busy so they’d never have the chance to band together and plot a rebellion. This is exactly what was done on slave ships and plantations- given a bit of free time, the indentured laborers could start planning something mischievous. The best way to nip those plans in the bud would be to never let them be free, even for a moment.
Science as mop-up work: Scientists don’t try to come up with a revolutionary theory every day. The regular work of a scientist involves conducting experiments and studies, gathering data, and figuring out more details to further expand on an existing, well-accepted paradigm in their field. So regular science can be considered similar to mop-up work (not derogatory at all), where the goal is to add further details to an existing scientific worldview instead of attempting to overthrow it and come up with something entirely new.
Lies Vs Bullshit: Lying is when you know what’s true and purposely attempt to say something that’s the opposite of it i.e. you’re aware of the truth and intend to deceive the listener. But bullshit is when we’re not concerned with the truth value of our statements and say them only to create a certain impression about ourselves. To lie, you must know what’s true. But to bullshit, you don’t need to. Your only goal is to blabber and convey an impression: that you indeed deserve a promotion or are very smart (even though you don’t know what you’re talking about).
Punishment at a supernatural distance: A tribe prospers if its members behave morally. And they behave morally if it’s easy to inflict punishment on misbehavior. The cost of punishing bad actors was reduced by the invention of bows & arrows which made it possible to inflict punishment at a distance- which may have promoted good behavior. Similarly, inventing an omnipresent God who watches all your actions (punishment at a supernatural distance) might have turned out to be even better in enforcing moral behavior and group harmony- leading such groups to get ahead of others, thereby making religion an adaptive trait.
Monopolist’s Playbook: Companies have a set playbook to acquire power: raise insane amounts of capital based on the promise of becoming a monopoly, engage in predatory pricing to kill competition, use your clout to buy political favors (like tax breaks), and engage in ever-increasing levels of anti-competitive behavior because the law is on your side. Giant corporations have a nasty track record of gaming the legal system with arbitration, preventing collective consumer action, spying on workers & destroying all union-related activity, and colluding with regulators to ensure that their dominance can never be challenged.
Male default bias: We live in a world designed by men and for men, and often forget to consider females and their unique needs. This finds its way into our language (‘fireman’ instead of firefighter), our algorithms (voice assistants aren’t often unable to recognize female voices), products (many medicines are tested only on males), and tools (farming equipment and pianos are often too big for female hands). To counter this, we need sex-disaggregated data, more women in decision-making processes, and consideration of females and their unique needs while designing new ideas, policies, and products.
Modernization and assertiveness: As nations modernize, their increasing wealth and prosperity build their self-confidence and assertiveness. Nations start believing that their culture has the right ingredients to produce growth & prosperity as other nations start looking up to them. People admire Korean and Japanese culture- but it has only happened after a period of swashbuckling growth that propelled them into the orbit of developed nations. Soft power always follows hard power.
Colonization Of The Indian Mind: British coloniality was pernicious as it attempted to alter the software of our people. By disconnecting us from our culture, making us believe that it has no value, and positioning the white man as the superior being who must be emulated through colonial education, they managed to infect the Indian mind and this effect continues to date. Decoloniality begins when we interpret our history, texts, traditions, etc on our own terms and see through the attempt at making us loathe our civilization.
Theory Of Constructed Emotions: Emotions are constructions made by our brains based on the body sensations we’re experiencing. When we feel we’re nervous, it’s our brain interpreting this based on the funny feeling in the stomach. The culture we live in shapes the emotional concepts that our brains learn- and therefore, leads different people to have different emotional responses to the same stimulus. For instance, in some cultures, people smile sheepishly when feeling guilty while in others they maintain a straight face. Smiling was invented a few centuries ago- the Romans didn’t really smile to signal happiness!
Thanks for reading through the best ideas for 2023. If you can’t get enough of these pieces, please check out: