Check out this TED talk by Eli Pariser. It is less than 10 minutes long and he raises an issue that might be more important than we realise....
My first thoughts, after watching this clip, were around the implications of being stuck in a 'web of one' - where the only information I receive is what computers 'decide' is relevant to me. Then I remembered that this happens outside of the web as well. How many of us have told someone in power or authority what we think they want to hear as opposed to what we believe or perceive? If we do it with others then surely it is done to us as well. What can we trust to be true or balanced?
I think I can rely on my own observations - yet - there's a problem here too. In self-deception I distort my perception of what I see and hear to justify my mistreatment of others. How does that happen? Let me illustrate. On Wednesday I took a call from a lady who works for the Kapiti Expressway project. After briefly introducing herself she informed me that 'fortunately' all of my property is now required for the new road. I saw red! I gave her a spray and hung up on her. In subsequent conversation with her boss he mentioned that her script used the word unfortunately and not the one I had heard. While I still think it is dumb to use a word that can be heard as it's polar opposite meaning when giving bad news to a victim - I have to ask the question - did the caller mis-speak or did I mis-hear in order to justify my abusive reaction?
Whether we call it 'the box' or a bubble - this disconnection from balance and perspective is a major challenge for all of us. How can we make good decisions when the information we base them on is woefully incomplete, dangerously unbalanced and then distorted to suit our purposes? For those who watch movies - it's like being trapped in the Matrix - thinking that everything is as we perceive it and unable to see the code.
That's why I choose to work with Arbinger - because their language and tools help me to see some of the distortions in my own life and that gives me choices around how I respond. It doesn't mean I get it right but sometimes I get to make it right - and that's good enough for now. Having others 'feed' us managed information is dangerous but this pales in comparison to the risks we present by maintaing self-justifying images of ourselves. Google and Facebook do present a threat to balance and perspective in the way they 'handle' us but will they make the change if we won't be it?
Before Neo could see the matrix he had to take the pill. Maybe it's time for me to read Leadership and Self Deception or Anatomy of Peace again? Food for thought ....
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