Debate vs Dialogue
Friends!
What is truth? Who decides what is true? How can there be such wide interpretations of the same course of events?
These are questions that have taken center stage in many conversations lately. Paradoxically, this is also a turning point. (Hopefully.) Truth is so complicated that it doesn't lend itself well to a debate. We need more of a dialogue. And, perhaps, we can use this crisis as a catalytic mechanism towards a better public conversation.
So, why is this so hard? Why are we so stuck? What brought us here?
There is obviously not a single answer to such a complex question. But, I would like to offer two areas that certainly, in my mind, have contributed to our current divergence of truth. First, the explosion of published scientific research has widened the array of possible beliefs. Think of it as the paradox of choice. Second, the effect social media is having in amplifying opposing truths.
One of the main engines of progress in the past hundred years has been our commitment to science and the scientific method. Which, in its most simple form, states that the job of science is to test hypotheses and reject all that cannot be replicated in randomized experiments.
Thankfully, we have seen an explosion of scientific discoveries in the last few decades. We have witnessed and benefited from massive progress in almost every conceivable field ranging from microchips, rockets, genomics, medicine, and now to rapidly developing vaccines. Thank God. But along with our increasing confidence in science, we are also seeing science used as weapons in promoting alternative truths. Many forms of biases seems to be eroding confidence and generalizability of too much science as of late. A few examples.
A majority of published articles are never mentioned by other scientists and too many articles are written by researchers that never again wrote an article. One would assume that, like in all things in life, we get better at what we do the more we do it. There also is the "replication" crisis (also referred to as the reproducibility crises) particularly in social science and medicine, where a different set of scientists are unable to replicate the outcome of earlier experiments. There have also been dubious sponsors of too much science where interested parties fund research to promote their favorite "truth". Smells and spells corrupt to me. We have lost sight of the purpose of peer-reviewed studies: not all science is created equal. We should renew our faith in the process of experts in their fields reviewing and assessing the work of their peers, and go from there. Beware of armchair experts, or, more likely these days, keyboard warriors.
And then, we also find ourselves at a crossroads with social media, which is more likely the bigger problem. No good can come of a business model which profits from addiction to attention while exploiting the sad human psychology and amplifying drama, conflict, and tension. This has weaponized debates and amputated dialogue. The conversations that occur online would rarely play out the same way offline. So, taken together, a diluted scientific certainty amplified by a social media echo-chamber has widened the gap between our versions of reality.
Truth is the ultimate currency of any society. There must be broadly shared truths in order for society to reach its fullest potential. Think about some truths that we have not started to doubt. (At least, not yet.) A $5 bill is worth $5. We drive on the right side of the street. A contract signed, by most, is something you accept responsibility for. When enough people start doubting our basic foundational truth, we are in deep trouble.
And, sadly, as of late, I think we are. I mean, in deep trouble.
We have to shift our cultural climate from one of debate to one of dialogue. In a debate, people present their facts and seeks to win an argument. To them, there is an absolute right or absolute wrong. In a dialogue, there is more humility and curiosity. There is not necessarily anything right or wrong, just a commitment to a process seeking to FIND the best answer for all participants in the dialogue.
Truth is not something we can choose depending on circumstance. Truth is, in most cases, rather absolute. At least, at any given moment in time. They certainly do change over time (i.e. the earth is NOT flat anymore). There are also some very inconvenient truths. All the time. But our future isn't brighter because we deny, reject, or suppress that truth. On the contrary. Only truth will set us free. In fact, embracing truly uncomfortable "new truths" has the power of liberating ourselves from the limitations of our formerly held beliefs. Progress, therefore, is defined by moving towards something beyond ourselves. A new reality. If we don’t embrace new ideas, we will not grow. Or, as my friend William Van Dusen Wishard has put it so beautifully:
Vision is seeing the potential purpose hidden in the chaos of the moment, but which could bring to birth new possibilities for a person, a company, or a nation. Vision is seeing what life could be like while dealing with life as it is.
I don't blame people for subscribing to things that aren't true. But, I do hold the people in power responsible for fanning the flames of deception. Lately, there have been too many people in power who should have stood up for the evidence (or, lack thereof) they clearly were aware of. Thankfully, there have also been inspiring examples of people who did. Even when it most likely would hurt their political capital.
We have all felt on edge. As a country, we have been peering over a cliff, too close for comfort from danger and despair. I remain hopeful that this proximity to our peril has made most people realize that we need to recommit to a shared understanding of reality. A wakeup call, in every sense of the word. And this new awakening must lead us to more dialogue and less debate. We have so much opportunity to still revitalize ourselves. And we will only achieve our full potential by embracing facts as they are, whether good or bad, and keep working hard at converting challenges to opportunities and fears to dreams.
A few things the truly inspired me this rather heavy week:
PLEASE listen to this live discussion between Esther Perel and Adam Grant on relationships and trust. It's well worth your time. It's filled with so many deep, beautiful human insights from Esther. It moved me. It also speaks volumes about our relationship with trust. This is the kind of conversation we need a lot more of.
I thought Arnold Schwarzenegger's video was very honest, vulnerable, and inspiring given what we are living through.
If you want to better understand what's going on in science please listen to this great interview with John Ioannidis and Petter Attia.
I found this piece by the Mayor of Oklahoma City to be the kind of leadership we need a lot more. Particularly when inconvenient.
This piece by Sam Harris covering what's wrong on both sides of our political spectrum is a great "grounding" in why we all have work to do.
If you believe this is only a problem on the right, please watch this documentary on what is going on relative to safe spaces and the problem of free speech in our universities. The trailer is here.
Perspective is so important. This video helps put our current problems in a very healthy perspective. Everything is relative.
