Crypto, covid, social media and many other issues society is dealing with lately could do with clearer minds in my opinion. We could use more heartfelt critical thought and a bit less groupthink, as far as I can tell.
So I made a guide to being smarter this weekend, with the aim of helping to further that cause. And though it's so far received less attention than my previous two guides, I'm still quite proud of how it tackles a topic most people avoid (intelligence), in a conversational way.
I pulled out the following doodle from the guide because I felt it was particularly relevant what with 'the market' responding to every other tweet Elon Musk makes and so on.
Now, I don't know Elon personally, and I'm careful to reserve judgment on people as much as possible until I'm able to get 'their side of things' straight from the horses mouth. I prefer to read people's energy and body language, if possible. I prefer to have as much understanding of them as a person before I come to any major conclusions.
Which means I don't write him off as crazy, nor do I write off his (impressive) achievements or his unique perspective.
All that said, there's an observable trend of many individuals paying far more attention to whichever charming celeb is in the public eye than they do to other 'truly wise' people who may be in their awareness.
And I get it. It's much easier to attend to the obvious, than it is to hunt for a needle hiding in a haystack. I might have incredible insights the world could benefit from, but if I'm not on a soapbox, platform, or stage, I'm certainly not making those insights obvious to others.
So although the doodle I made makes an interesting point, it oversimplifies the situation. The people lining up to listen to the rich guy's less-than-accurate ideas aren't seeing two equal booths and signs, they're actually seeing a giant stage with a megaphone next to a mime silently trying to convey a message.
Hopefully what I've written here shows that things are a bit more nuanced than 'dumb & rich' vs 'wise & poor', or even 'inaccurate & famous' vs 'spot-on & obscure', but the whole thing may get you thinking. It does spark questions in my mind, anyway.
So I'm curious... when someone has wisdom, insight, or helpful conversation to offer society, do you think people should recognize it and elevate them? Do you think it's the speaker's responsibility to build their own platform and make their value 'obvious enough' to compete with the megaphone? Do you think it's a blend of the two? And do you think society is missing out on important voices and ideas while they chase inaccurate (albeit accomplished) influencers? Do you think it's even possible to tell a truly 'smart' advisor from an empty talking head?
I'd love to hear perspectives on this from bright folks such as: @nonameslefttouse @meesterboom @dandays @crosheille @antisocialist @steevc @atma.love @cynshineonline @brutalisti @keco @mynima @thoughts-in-time @nickyhavey @mattclarke @nevies @starstrings01 @chuckrick @barge @finguru @nioberojas @riverflows @minismallholding - any thoughts?