As I am sitting here composing this blog we are experiencing a second wave of lockdowns that may not be the last here in Aotearoa. From what I have heard, some have found this lockdown has been easier because it is a known and strategies to manage it are in place. For others it has been difficult and fear-inducing. There are many reasons for this: job insecurity, travel restrictions, isolation and separation from loved ones. So there is a real need for understanding what is going on and what is and can be done to manage this situation. With more time on our hands in extended lockdowns there is more time for exposure to social media while looking for information in order to understand the curve of this pandemic. A new wave of fear and suspicion arose around how governing bodies were managing their response to the resurgence of the virus and its new variants. So much information is being shared from countless sources many in rapid-fire delivery videos suggesting ways to interpret what is going on. If ever there was a time for us to gain understanding in what we choose to consume it is now. In order to do that we must be artful in the way we think.
So, imagine you open up a message from a trusted friend, or see something on the news that is talking about the problems facing us. Off you go seeking more information by looking at yet more videos and websites or platforms that are discussing this issue. However, do you first take a step back to analyse the situation? Do you identify the different people involved and gain a sound understanding of their opinion and what data or sources it is based upon? Do you further investigate those sources? Do you decide to run with the first solution you find and thereby keep looking in the same circles to validate your idea? Do you take the time to come up with a number of possibilities and options and test each of them before making your final judgement? Do you take the time to thoroughly look at the opposite narrative in order to gain understanding before making a judgement?
All this can seem very daunting and time consuming. In the absence of definitive answers we rely on networks of trust. So a good question to ask yourself is: Do the people in your network of trust have sound critical thinking skills?
So often the videos being shared promote a story that is subtly and not so subtly polarizing by pointing out heroes and villains. This can seem to serve us as they speak to real uncertainties. They help to soothe anxiety about fraying social networks. Often they do not manage the crisis and instead offer existential salvation.
When looking for answers we seek to satisfy 3 needs:
1. Epistemological Needs (access to privileged information). This often feeds self-importance and an immature ego stance due to fear of separation, which gives rise to hierarchy, comparison, competition and a conquest and evangelicalyzing of viewpoint.
2. The need for Safety (in this instance it is the need to predict and therefore survive the coming of a perceived crisis).
3. Social Needs – The bonding with others in a shared experience. So many of us live in disconnected communities and isolation (especially in lockdowns) and this is why we seek out people that think like us so we feel like we fit in. The negative side of these needs is that in immature ego contracts there is blame, shame and an erosion of relationship. Expanded, self-educating ego includes and encompasses. Self-awareness is the key. When operating from an enlightened stance we can disagree without blame or shame and disagreement has nothing to do with having a relationship with each other.
Now more than ever there is a need for critical thinking skills. First let’s define what the word critical means:
Critical:
1. Expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgements.
2. Expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults or a work
It is very interesting to see that what can pass as information often resides in the first definition. When we are committed to really understanding something and use critical thinking skills we are operating from the 2nd definition. There is a real need for all of us to analyse a problem without allowing our personal bias to get in the way. In order to do this we need to be objective when in pursuit of an answer. In highly contentious situations what is often overlooked is that we neglect to factor in our personal bias. Personal bias means the assumptions and beliefs you have at the beginning of research. It means looking at the emotions and assumptions that influence how you think.
Once the problem is identified we need to SLOW DOWN our pace and processing of information in order to observe the subtleties of your surroundings (i.e. the context in which the problem is occurring.) The way to build this skill is to practice active listening (listening to what is being said attentively and without judging what is being said). This can be difficult when emotions arise. However, if they do this is the perfect time to apply mindfulness – the practice of bringing our attention wholly and completely to the present moment. This enables us to ask ourselves, why am I getting so worked up? How is this affecting my ability to hear what is really being said?
If we are not looking at a situation from multiple perspectives, we will be unable to understand the full impact of the decisions we make.
Critical thinking involves the following steps:
1. Identifying the problem or issue (this in itself is more complex than it seems.)
2. Speculate on why the problem exists and how it can be solved.
3. Collect information and on the issue through research (this must include comprehensive information from both sides of the issue). Unbiased research on both sides of the issue should be gathered. Questions must be asked about the data in order to understand the findings (rather than assume we understand what is being said). This is critically important if we are seeking to understand data outside of our skillset, such as in scientific research.
4. Organize and sort the findings.
5. Analyse findings – to build this skill means expanding learning in order to think in new ways and skilfully interpret new information across broad areas of expertise. Be humble and realize that, no, you don't consciously know everything!
6. Propose a new solution to the problem and test it.
7. Analyse what works and doesn't work.
8. Refine!
Always ask yourself is there enough credible information to support your idea about things?
Are the sources you picked reliable? For instance, someone with Dr. in their title can mean something different than what is being assumed or implied. A doctor of Herbal medicine will not have the same expertise or skill set as a doctor of internal medicine, or epidemiology or virology.
Is the video giving comprehensive data-backed information? Do you really understand where the ‘sources’ in any video come from? What was the context the charts or graphs being used in this video in its original siting? Ask yourself does the source of these statistics have training in immunobiology and statistics and thereby able to fully interpret the data presented? Is it argumentative or eliciting an emotional response before presenting 'facts' to back that up? If a video or source contains disturbing images and information ask yourself what they are advocating for? Do they offer a comprehensive solution to the problem or does the video leave you upset with no real steps outlined to go about a solution? Does it vilify people or does it examine the problem? Does it leverage its message on vague over broad generalizations about a group of people or organizations?
Another very important question to ask yourself, “Am I sure I wasn’t biased in my search for answers?”
Here are some suggestions going forward that can help you in your pursuit of understanding any situation that you care about:
- Be clear about the issue at hand. Often the “issue” is many issues conflated together. Know your objective. Is it conquest or a sincere desire to help others? Be aware that conquest plays into the out-moded power and control narrative that we as a species are in the process of transforming. If you are using aggression, blaming, shaming you can be sure you are operating in the power and control mode. It is through understanding and compassion that true transformation occurs.
- Be objective in your pursuit of answers.
- Manage emotion first before speaking and looking for answers.
- Become comfortable with silence as a way to cleanse and rest your mind.
- Always make the preservation of relationships a primary goal.
- Be disciplined and consistent in showing up until accord is found both within you and in others.
- Be mindful and aware in the choosing the time and place in discussing important issues and findings. Also be aware if the person to whom you are speaking is already in overload or operating from a fear-based perspective. (VERY IMPORTANT)
- Maintain a watchful inner awareness to the reactions you have to what is being said and how it is being said.
And always be willing to begin again (to be teachable).
It is my sincere desire that this is of contribution in your pursuit of the Truth.