Reality is not fully knowable. But humans want to know reality. We try in many different ways:
science, to understand what can be observed
religion and philosophy, to explain the vast inner worlds of people and the cultures we create
power, to try and shape reality as we wish it to be
stories, to explain everything
The problem with stories is we are so open to them that they do a brilliant job of explaining reality to us, even when they don’t. Stories blind us as much as they enlighten us. A good story is more powerful than almost any evidence.
A person who can wriggle away from a story to look at actual evidence opens themselves up to great possibility. Most of us see what we think should be or must be because of the stories we believe. The people who develop the ability get past the stories told by their tribes/politics/religions/clubs and see some of what actually is – they have the opportunity to act based on true knowledge.
They can see previously unseen possibilities.
They can meet real needs.
They can solve real problems.
They can create real profit.
Getting closer to reality is worth the costly work.
Grow slowly.
Jeff
I can’t believe it.
Every song from every past email:
Here’s an example of detaching from partisan stories to see reality. Chamath Palihapitiya calls it being an ‘observer of the present’. The whole podcast is worth listening to, but if you only have a little time, listen to his answer at 31 minutes. https://fs.blog/knowledge-project/chamath-palihapitiya/