Avoid the “Messenger Mindset” So often in preparing to communicate, we make a fundamental mistake: we enter a messenger mindset. Rather than establishing a clear goal and aiming to persuade our audience, we set out to inform, to update, to share. On this path, we end...
How to Encourage Responsible and Meaningful Engagement in Public Discourse
I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of -CLARENCE D ARROW To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know. That is true knowledge. -HENRY DAVID THOREAU We have met the enemy and he is us. -WALT KELLY'S "PoGo"...
Solution Aversion – Why people believe what they believe
The Learning Community is always interested in what causes some to refuse to learn. A recent study on this subject by Troy Campbell and Aaron Kay of Duke University adds an intriguing new idea to the mix: “solution aversion.” Motivated Reasoning is something the...
We need to Seek Understanding First in our efforts in finding Common Ground rather than fight
Bill Maher asked this question, "Do you think social media made us bigger assholes, or we were bigger assholes and it just exposed us as being that?" Maher posed the question to Nerdist Industries CEO, and host of @Midnight on Comedy Central, Chris Hardwick, after...
The Difficulty to Building Consensus is on clear display with Religion on Wikipedia. But there are solutions. Like Separating Facts and Conclusions, and transparency to the source.
A interesting post from the Religion New Service (RNS) about the "Edit Wars" on the Religious Pages of Wikipedia clearly demonstrate the difficulty to Building Consensus. But, there is a solution. Clearly identify what are facts and what are conclusions. Then...