From My Inbox - 5 July, 2024
Immoral artists and their art, the importance of critical analyses, everything is not in decline, a framework for critical thinking, and how far will you go?
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This week in From My Inbox…
Immoral artists and their art, the importance of critical analyses, everything is not in decline, a framework for critical thinking, and how far will you go?
Something to ponder:
Can you love the art of an immoral artist?
This is a tricky question to start a newsletter with. It's not one you can easily and quickly answer with a simple yes or no.
You need to think about it, and your answer will likely vary from artist to artist, depending on the immorality of their actions.
For some, it might be easy to argue that art should be judged objectively only based on its creative value.
For me, some things I can ignore. Others there’s no way I can. When you know certain things about a person, you can't help seeing their art through a different lens.
An interesting point Sabrina makes, one I had not considered before, is "We tend to focus on the artist and bypass the institutions that allowed, enabled, or even encouraged those actions."
Don't miss the 7 sensory resources she provides to further examine this topic.
In his book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt argues that taking smartphones or at least social media away from kids could increase their happiness and reduce rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. They will have more time to play in the physical world.
Many people see this book as the go-to guide on the effects of smartphones and social media. As a result, they suggest removing these tools from children and even early teens as a solution.
But Peter Gray points out that there's very little evidence supporting these claims, despite many studies aiming to show such harmful effects.
Gray presents evidence that challenges the theory linking smartphones and social media to teenage suffering. He also analyzes one of the articles Haidt cited, showing why it's important to read research critically.
Everywhere you look, there are claims about how everything is getting worse. Well, Tommy Blanchard is skeptical of claims about things being better in the 'good old days'.
If you're tired of pessimistic takes on almost everything, Tommy offers a refreshing and positive way of thinking about and understanding the world around us.
Why is a change of perspective so important? Because pessimism detracts from finding real solutions.
As Hans Rosling says in Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World,
Uncontrolled, our appetite for the dramatic goes too far, prevents us from seeing the world as it is, and leads us terribly astray.
There’s an interesting conversation going on in the comments section.
From this section, I discovered this article: Do You Really Think Critically?
Critical thinking is one of those things people claim we don’t have anymore. This article unpacks critical thinking and breaks down the concept into three skills: managing knowledge, structuring logic, and applying critique.
I stumbled upon this essay from January 2023, probably someone mentioned it in a newsletter.
What are you serious about? How far will you go?
Those questions can only be answered over time because is not enough to say you are serious, you have to demonstrate it.
Here are a couple of stunning examples of serious people:
Justo Gallego Martínez built a cathedral with his own hands. He spent 60 years building it.
When I started building, word on the street was that I was crazy. They didn't believe I would be so dedicated... I'm proving them wrong.
Dashrath “Mountain Man” Manjhi spent 22 years using a hammer and chisel to carve a path through a mountain, reducing the distance between his village and the nearest doctor from 55-70km to 1km. He undertook this after his wife died from injuries because she couldn't access medical care.
When I started hammering the hill, people called me a lunatic but that steeled my resolve.
That’s the god tier of seriousness, devotion, and perhaps even obsession.
This is Justo Gallego’s cathedral. You can’t help but be in awe of what one man accomplished, brick by brick.
If you are curious, watch also the video The Lone Man Building a Cathedral By Hand
That’s all for today.
Enjoy your weekend,
Olga