Love the Law of Tragic Nuance. I think this radical centrist idea will also be useful in building skills to manage paradoxes. As you say, being in the center is difficult!!
"We live in an open system world, subject to radical uncertainty" Abby Innes
Love the attempt at click bait with the word "tragic", right smack in the middle! Take that left and right!
What I am missing here is the concept of uncertainty. Not uncertainty in terms of "fear", but rather in terms of "adaptiveness". No extreme view is adaptive because it refuses to take on the seeds of the opposing (or merely differing) views.
Maybe the next iteration of the article will include the "uncertainty" idea?
Jurgen, I agree with the core diagnosis: nuance is punished by the attention economy, and the more you learn, the harder it gets to tolerate cartoon takes on either side.
Your list of cognitive traps is also genuinely useful. It names the machinery that turns “it depends” into a liability and certainty into a social drug.
My only pushback is the packaging. The “ignorant fool” refrain is funny, but it also risks undercutting the very thing you are defending. Nuance plus contempt reads like nuance as superiority, even when the intent is boundary setting.
The strongest version of your stance is not “I am in the middle.” It is “I use a method.” Start with data, name trade-offs, state what would change your mind, and refuse false balance. That is a standard worth defending, even when everyone wants a mascot and a slogan.
Great article. Simplicity sells, nobody cites sources anymore, and nuance almost guarantees being ignored—or labeled “that (Dutch) guy who always complicates things.”
So I ask myself—pretty much every day—if we all have access to enough information to explore all sides of any issue, but the real problem is oversimplification, short attention spans, tribalism, ignorance, uncertainty, delusional biases, etc., what is the best way to help people manage paradoxes? Navigating Polarities by Brian Emerson and Kelly Lewis helps me stay centered (sometimes). Dank!
Love the Law of Tragic Nuance. I think this radical centrist idea will also be useful in building skills to manage paradoxes. As you say, being in the center is difficult!!
"We live in an open system world, subject to radical uncertainty" Abby Innes
Love the attempt at click bait with the word "tragic", right smack in the middle! Take that left and right!
What I am missing here is the concept of uncertainty. Not uncertainty in terms of "fear", but rather in terms of "adaptiveness". No extreme view is adaptive because it refuses to take on the seeds of the opposing (or merely differing) views.
Maybe the next iteration of the article will include the "uncertainty" idea?
Fair point. But I like the focus of this article. There will be other opportunities to write about uncertainty. I created a whole new model for that.
Jurgen, I agree with the core diagnosis: nuance is punished by the attention economy, and the more you learn, the harder it gets to tolerate cartoon takes on either side.
Your list of cognitive traps is also genuinely useful. It names the machinery that turns “it depends” into a liability and certainty into a social drug.
My only pushback is the packaging. The “ignorant fool” refrain is funny, but it also risks undercutting the very thing you are defending. Nuance plus contempt reads like nuance as superiority, even when the intent is boundary setting.
The strongest version of your stance is not “I am in the middle.” It is “I use a method.” Start with data, name trade-offs, state what would change your mind, and refuse false balance. That is a standard worth defending, even when everyone wants a mascot and a slogan.
Also, the termites line is excellent.
Agreed. But mention “data” or “method” and most people’s eyes glaze over.
I see what you mean alas
Great article. Simplicity sells, nobody cites sources anymore, and nuance almost guarantees being ignored—or labeled “that (Dutch) guy who always complicates things.”
So I ask myself—pretty much every day—if we all have access to enough information to explore all sides of any issue, but the real problem is oversimplification, short attention spans, tribalism, ignorance, uncertainty, delusional biases, etc., what is the best way to help people manage paradoxes? Navigating Polarities by Brian Emerson and Kelly Lewis helps me stay centered (sometimes). Dank!