For Your Consideration - 2

            Here is this week’s “For Your Consideration” video. Like last week, it is another excellent TED Talk, though this one deals with another topic. Whether you realize it or not, Google (along with just about every other major internet entity) tailors your experience of the web through the use of algorithms. I had known this for some time, but I never realized the extent to which it was being used by other companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, etc.

            While this might not seem like such a problem, it has undoubtedly contributed to the radical political polarization we have seen here in the United States over the last decade or so. This also affects us in other potentially detrimental ways such as inhibiting the open-mindedness that one must cultivate as a philosopher. To be able to ask important questions is contingent upon being exposed to wide and diverse views, even those diametrically opposed to your own personal convictions. In order to dialogue with others—especially those with whom we disagree about our opinions—we must have the access to their perspective, to their worldview. But if we are being limited in that exposure, does it not stifle us and the wisdom we would potentially accrue?

            How can we work around these “filter bubbles”? How can we effectively seek out information that broadens the horizons of our inquiry? How can we help the algorithms better serve our needs while still allowing them to function properly and well? Why is this crucial for progress in a representative democracy such as ours, especially one that has been plagued with dysfunction and ideological gridlock over the last decade?

            As always, please post your thoughts, comments, and questions below.

This Moment

            I’m looking out my back window right now. It’s a beautiful day outside here in Tampa. Whimsical wisps of clouds in the bright blue sky. The sunlight is cascading down onto the leaves of the trees in our backyard. It’s breathtaking, really. Then I start to think that those photons of light came blazing out of the sun so fast that it took them eight minutes to get here. Photosynthesis. The energy of life and the universe. All of it. And on top of that I realize that I am necessary for all of this other stuff to be here with me. That by my sentient observation of these “things” (Ah, Heidegger…again) I create my own world, perception, story, reality. It’s astounding. Awesome in the most literal sense that I can convey with these vessels of shared meaning.

            What is it in your world? Right after reading this, stop and take a look at this moment. What in this moment—beyond the technology—makes you wonder? Makes you feel grateful to be alive? Makes you want to learn and discover? What in this moment are you most passionate about?

            Please take 5 minutes away from whatever device you are reading this on. Just pay attention to this moment and think about the questions above. You may discover you don’t want to get back on here.

Cultivating Curiosity

            A former student of mine left a comment in the “La Buena Vida” post from two days ago. He talked about how the good life is often directly in front of us but we are quick to dismiss it by taking those aspects of life for granted. I think Korey made an important point in an understated way. Namely, the philosophical life requires incessant inquisitiveness.

            Philosophers—whether the archetypes from ancient times, the academicians working in universities today, or even the everyday wannabe philosophers such as myself—have one commonality that they all share: curiosity. And not just an ordinary sense of curiosity, an overwhelming one. Philosophers are people who have cultivated and nurtured this sense of curiosity to such a degree that they can be endlessly fascinated by seemingly simple things. The word curious even comes from the Latin root meaning “careful” or “diligent.” And that’s what we all must learn to be. To be careful and diligent, to leave no stone unturned, which is why philosophy can be threatening at times. No scientific theory can be too cherished, no belief system too sacred, all must be scrutinized in an effort to promote greater understanding of ourselves, the universe, and our roles within it.

            The question remains—how do we cultivate our curiosity? For me personally, it came naturally to a certain degree due to my propensity for reading any and all types of books. Looking back on it now, raised by a teacher and nurtured by these books, it’s not surprising that I came to be the avid, lifelong learner that I have become (or am in the process of becoming). Add to this a daily mindfulness meditation practice over the last five years, and my sense of wonder and curiosity seem to know no bounds. I would suggest beginning with something about which you are endlessly captivated and let your interests radiate outward from there. You’ll be surprised in no time how curious you are becoming about other aspects of life as well.

            What about you? What are you curious about? If you’re not curious about anything, why do you think that is? Are there other avenues to developing this sense of curiosity about the world? Yourself? If so, what are they and why have they worked for you?

Rainy Day Exam Blues Hiatus

            Due to exams and weather, I never got around to speaking with students today. In fact, exams will last the rest of the week and we have a long weekend due to the holiday for MLK, Jr., so the likelihood of me getting back out into the courtyard soon is slim. Even so, I plan to continue posting in the hopes of drumming up more interest in our experiment.

            You may have noticed new tabs at the top of the screen. I will try to get those rounded out in the next few days. They are self-evident in terms of what those pages will contain, and I hope that they will be of some value to you and your own philosophical quest.

            Until then, though, I am open to suggestions. Please use the comment box to ask your favorite “question of ultimate concern,” as Tillich would say. I would like to start a dialogue with readers, but I want to give you the honor of posting some of the big questions you think about a lot. Or if you can’t really articulate that topic or concern as a question, then write it as a statement or a single word.

            Okay. Your turn.

Invitation

            Hey. You. Yeah, you reading this post. I want you to be part of something. An experiment. I believe What’s Up, Soc? has great potential. I have a lot more good ideas to come, and I hope that you will be there to take part in them. But I need your help…

            If you’re at school, you’ll probably see me outside 2-3 days a week holding a dry-erase board with a question on it. I’m hoping to engage you in conversation about the question, but only if you are willing. For the last couple of days, I’ve walked around with messages. Two days ago it was “Will Philosophize for Food,” which brought on some interesting dialogue as well as a student who approached me to kindly offer a brand new Mountain Dew Code Red.  I politely declined.

            If you’re reading the blurbs online, I will try to base them on the actual conversations had with you at school. On the days I don’t get outside, you will receive the question/topic du jour—and you never know what’s tumbling around in my head from one day to the next. Trust me, it only makes for more fun.

            And for those of you who just happen to stop by and read these and enjoy them, please feel free to make yourselves part of the palaver. The more philosophers we can get on here and discussing important things (ah, Heidegger), the more enriching and rewarding this experiment/experience can be.

Please feel free to comment, share with others, and help spread the word!

P.S. – I just noticed that the second through second through fifth posts say “Q+A Is Happy Life.” Totally unplanned, but true nonetheless.