How do we get people to care?
Meeting people at the intersection of “How does this very concretely affect me?” and “How does this change my conception of how the world works?” Very tricky to strike this balance.
It’s easy to find the concrete effects — just look at BuzzFeed articles like “25 signs that you’re a ’90s kid” or blog posts like “25 proven tactics to xyz”.
It’s easy to find the paradigm shifters — read anything by Daniel Kahneman or Nassim Taleb.
Concrete effects are excessively accessible. But because they are immensely accessible, they probably don’t have enduring value. Quick popcorn bites.
Paradigm shifters are much less accessible — most of them are locked up in time-intensive books and experiences.
Finding a way to meet both of these halfway may be the key to really get people to care. Most “concrete effects” pieces highly underestimate how smart people are, while most “paradigm shifters” underestimate how scatterbrained people are.
ammar mian 