Brook’s anger and frustration surfaced “as a former social scientist” when he described how unbelievable it was to him that so many do people not to believe in the science and the data and facts about the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”
Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 4 in Season 3 of “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 4th day of March in the spring of 2021 — which is a three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic year and then in the pandemic year, and now months after.
Previously in Season Three, The Paradoxically Normal Year
S3 E3 — A Pivot, a Miracle or Something Paradoxically Normal?; S3 E2 — Preview of the New Post Pandemic Season; S3 E1 — Preview Day One in Season Three of the New Abnormality
Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year
S2 E4 — Sneak Preview: Day 4 of My Pandemic Year’s Natural Experiment; S2 E3 — Day 3 of My Pandemic Year Experiment; S2 E2 — New Season Preview: Rippling Effects, Implications and Consequences We Didn’t See Coming; S2 E1 — Sneak Preview Asking “How Toxic is Your Work Life?”
Related from Season One, The Normal Year
S1 E4 — Day 4 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E3 — Day 3 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E2 — Day 2 of My 1-Year Experiment ; S1 E1 – Day One of My 1-Year Experiment
“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “It’s hard to say which is more difficult — the battering down of instinct necessary to resist the temptation your inner animal is lunging for or the consequences that go along with giving in.” Aries
Evidence
It was great finally talking by phone with Brook, one of my longer time friends, colleague and co-conspirator. I told him I felt I’d been returning full cycle to my psychology days to seek an explanation — “What a fool believes, she sees … Doobie Brothers”.
We talked a little about books and how much I’m really appreciating a connection to logic and both inductive and deductive reasoning passages in Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s “Mycroft Holmes” book.
Is that an example of one of the “good old days” yearning which Kurt Andersen says used to hold sway, but now conspiracy theories reign supreme?
Brook said he now finds himself saying more frequently, “At least I won’t be around long enough to witness how this will ultimately play out,” like the older last generation.
Okay, I like this essay for the Holiday Tau today:
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- Stories are a staple of humanity.
- Humans organize the world through stories. Perceptions are ordered through them, and roles are defined by them.
- The collective and individual human identity is forged in narrative — stories told to each other and stories told by each human to his or herself.
- A string of facts is not a story. A string of facts is the raw material for endless stories.
- What makes a story is not what’s in it, but how it’s told.
- If you ever want to change who you are, then change your story. Don’t make things up; rather, use what’s there and think of it in another way.
- The first step in changing a story is in realizing that it is one.
- Humans tell themselves stories all the time (often unhelpful and fear-inducing stories) without realizing that is what they are doing.
- The best way to test a story is to tell it to different audiences.
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So, our Holiday Tau might have been influenced by Oprah’s interview with her neighbors in Montecito, California — the Royals who fled Buckingham Palace.
“3” Steve Zahn, 51: “No one is born with the stuff that will automatically make them popular or rich. Even those born to the monarchy must earn their status in the eyes of their court and country. You rise to the challenge of creating yourself.” Scorpio
Random ones that make me want change my sign.
Is that the dynamic Brook and I discussed? Someone who knows what they are doing incites our inner animal bypassing any critical thoughts? Are some of us just too gullible? Do we have so much invested in our magical thinking that the mere possibility of disproof feels like the loss of a loved one or a divorce?
“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “It’s hard to say which is more difficult — the battering down of instinct necessary to resist the temptation your inner animal is lunging for or the consequences that go along with giving in.” Aries
Funny, Brook told me how he devotes his morning to reading books that challenge his intelligence. Not only is Howey’s Holiday Tau for me, but it’s relevant for him as well
“5” Steve Howey, 42: “Anything that pays off intellectually pays off — period. If you’re wondering if you’re going to make money, consider that may be an irrelevant question when it comes to pursuits likely to polish your mind and soul.” Cancer
Now comes the two comedians and the technology company founder. Their Holiday Tau colored the professional leadership portion of my discussion with Brook since coaching and advising often boils down to better decision-making.
But in our back and forth — me as psychologically trained experimental and clinical professional and he as a social scientist — we both set a date to continue our understanding about how context and culture help or hurt what’s been going on.
“5” Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Context and culture play a huge part in people’s decision-making. Your work goes better when you dive deeper into understanding the values and challenges of the people you’re trying to serve.” Leo
We discussed my writing projects and Brook offered to help me bring them to completion as a cooperative “entity” which would require bridge building through trial and error to sharpen my clarity.
“5” Steve Aoki, 41: “To bring the vision of your mind into a form that others can see, too, you must build a bridge. It will require trial, error and excellent communication with cooperative entities.” Sagittarius
I’m down with the trees and mushrooms. If you were to compare the slightly edited version which appeared in the print edition of the Los Angeles Times — I know, remember newspapers — you got the productivity cycle part, but not the nature lesson. Just saying.
“5” Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “Don’t forget about the part in the cycle of productivity in which nothing happens. This dormancy is as crucial as sleep, which all living things do in their own way, even the trees and the mushrooms.” Pisces
What’s Going On …
Shifting Opportunities
Smart Moves
Long-Form
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- “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History” by Kurt Andersen Both of us, Emma the Baroness and I, have been processing the acquittal of our ex-President — not really being surprised by the “Big Lie” promoting followers in the Senate, but more disappointed after seeing new video documentation of the insurrection and detailed evidence time lines. I return to Kurt Andersen’s book “Fantasyland” to help me through the process of filtering the unfolding events.
Progress and Procrastination
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- Procrastination — Lost a full day replacing my 2000 Toyota 4-Runner with a leased Honda CR-V
Working on the Business
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- @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines jumps from 7280 to 7397 this week organically grown followers
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate
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