A lot has changed since the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, and, in this clip from our most recent subscriber-only Q&A session, a reader asked John and me to sum up where we were then and where we are now. At least on the race front, it’s hard to say things are better. If Black Lives Matter has given us anything, it’s more racial division and more resistance to the idea there is more to racial disparities in this country than “white supremacy.”
This clip is taken from a subscriber-only Q&A session. For access to Q&As, comments, early episodes, and a host of other benefits, click below and subscribe.
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Shallow thinkers do not think beyond the immediate and the observable. They usually take information at face value and only look at immediate consequences. They are not capable of looking at all sides of an issue or think deeply about the issue before making decisions or drawing conclusions . . .
They also believe that their opinion is based on deep thinking because they genuinely believe that their opinion is based on truth and facts. Whereas, deep thinkers look at the whole sequence of events and the consequences. When we dig deeper, we understand better. We can compare different outcomes, examine, tear apart, and make cognizant judgments that are derived from different mental models.
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Left and Right, I’ve yet to find a single person who digs beyond the depth of their immediate domain of interest. In our entirely transactional times, America endlessly rehashes topics of today — never once considering the totality of events that created them (or even having a notion of the need to). With the issues I address — you might as well be saying the Civil War wasn’t germane to the assassination of Lincoln. As I have an idea that could turn the tide — virtually all conversations on here fit under the umbrella of mine. If you’re not interested in such discovery, let’s not waste each other’s time. Thank you! 🙏
It astounds me that even that courtesy is hard to come by anymore. In a world where timeless truths are “outdated” — a lot of things are hard to come by.
It’s a mighty fine day when you wake up to high praise from a man of Glenn Loury’s caliber — twice! He once called my writing “brilliant,” was “honored by it,” and “blown away” by my site and signed up. I’d like to think that’d at least give me a little credibility with his supporters. I’d like to think a lot of things. What does it say to you that across communities where claims of critical thinking are everywhere — I haven’t found it anywhere? Ann Baker’s article beautifully captures what critical thinking is and is not:
“Indeed, nowadays, we tend to take in and repeat whatever the values and beliefs of those around us have rather than forming our own independent thought and stopping to organize and evaluate the information we are receiving.”
I’ve always hated Twitter and every long-form version of it (including the one I’m on right now). When I’m done doing what I gotta do — I’m never goin’ back (not to X or any other). Until then, I’m sending out a certain set of messages looking for intelligent life (fiercely independent thinkers who want to solve problems — not endlessly talk about them). I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth. Going by the galaxies filled with “rock stars” of reasoning across the social media universe — I should have no shortage of people eager to examine my idea and discuss how we could improve on it and proceed.
Explaining America’s decline over decades of delight in the Gutter Games of Government — is apples & oranges as it gets when compared to the transactional nature of news and social-media norms. Understanding how seemingly unrelated events impact one another takes time and effort to digest.
You are being conditioned to do the exact opposite — as all of America has been for decades.
And in truth, a lot longer than that. As Alexander Hamilton beautiful put it:
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To see the character of the government and the country so sported with, exposed to so indelible a blot, puts my heart to the torture. . . . Or what is it that thus torments me at a circumstance so calmly viewed by almost everybody else? Am I a fool, a romantic Quixote, or is there a constitutional defect in the American mind?
Were it not for yourself and a few others, I . . . would say . . . there is something in our climate which belittles every animal, human or brute. . . . I disclose to you without reserve the state of my mind. It is discontented and gloomy in the extreme.
I consider the cause of good government as having been put to an issue and the verdict against it.
— Ron Chernow, Hamilton
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We could do something about that, but you’re busy. You’re always busy. Thank you for your time, but please don’t waste mine. And to make that abundantly clear: If you don’t want to click on either of the links below, that’s your prerogative. But here’s the deal: If you don’t earn my time, you don’t get my time. Anything short of specifically addressing my arguments within one or both of the stories below, and you will not hear from me. And to save you some time, I won’t even read your comment if it’s not within the parameters of that opening quote. The first sentence I see that falls outside that domain; will be the last sentence I see.
If you’re turned off by this — that’s the point (to weed you out).
I beat the hell out of both sides, and if you can’t handle some heat — you don’t qualify (so I don’t need ya). Call me whatever you like, I don’t care. For 20 years, I’ve been practically spit on for following principles those same people promote on a daily basis. When it comes to self-satisfied scorn, I’ve heard it all and I’ve seen it all (and made the most of it by making examples out of hermetically sealed minds).
This is the larger story I’m out to tell:
From the Earth to the Moon to “WUT”
https://onevoicebecametwo.life/2024/04/24/from-the-earth-to-the-moon-to-wut/
And this is conduit through which I’m out to tell it:
The Critical Thinking of Sowell’s Crowd: Where Even Math is a Matter of Opinion https://onevoicebecametwo.life/2024/05/12/the-critical-thinking-of-sowells-crowd-where-even-math-is-a-matter-of-opinion/
*********************
Shallow thinkers do not think beyond the immediate and the observable. They usually take information at face value and only look at immediate consequences. They are not capable of looking at all sides of an issue or think deeply about the issue before making decisions or drawing conclusions . . .
They also believe that their opinion is based on deep thinking because they genuinely believe that their opinion is based on truth and facts. Whereas, deep thinkers look at the whole sequence of events and the consequences. When we dig deeper, we understand better. We can compare different outcomes, examine, tear apart, and make cognizant judgments that are derived from different mental models.
*********************
Left and Right, I’ve yet to find a single person who digs beyond the depth of their immediate domain of interest. In our entirely transactional times, America endlessly rehashes topics of today — never once considering the totality of events that created them (or even having a notion of the need to). With the issues I address — you might as well be saying the Civil War wasn’t germane to the assassination of Lincoln. As I have an idea that could turn the tide — virtually all conversations on here fit under the umbrella of mine. If you’re not interested in such discovery, let’s not waste each other’s time. Thank you! 🙏
It astounds me that even that courtesy is hard to come by anymore. In a world where timeless truths are “outdated” — a lot of things are hard to come by.
It’s a mighty fine day when you wake up to high praise from a man of Glenn Loury’s caliber — twice! He once called my writing “brilliant,” was “honored by it,” and “blown away” by my site and signed up. I’d like to think that’d at least give me a little credibility with his supporters. I’d like to think a lot of things. What does it say to you that across communities where claims of critical thinking are everywhere — I haven’t found it anywhere? Ann Baker’s article beautifully captures what critical thinking is and is not:
“Indeed, nowadays, we tend to take in and repeat whatever the values and beliefs of those around us have rather than forming our own independent thought and stopping to organize and evaluate the information we are receiving.”
I’ve always hated Twitter and every long-form version of it (including the one I’m on right now). When I’m done doing what I gotta do — I’m never goin’ back (not to X or any other). Until then, I’m sending out a certain set of messages looking for intelligent life (fiercely independent thinkers who want to solve problems — not endlessly talk about them).
Think of my signals as a poor man’s SETI: I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth. There’s a way we can harness folly from the past for the benefit of the future. A.K.A. learning! Going by the galaxies filled with “rock stars” of reasoning across the social media universe — I should have no shortage of people eager to examine my idea and discuss how we could improve on it and proceed. You tell me where those people are and I’ll gladly send out my signals to them.
If you’re not interested in hearing me out and having meaningful conversation — we have nothing to talk about and I wish you well.
Explaining America’s decline over decades of delight in the Gutter Games of Government — is apples & oranges as it gets when compared to the transactional nature of news and social-media norms. Understanding how seemingly unrelated events impact one another takes time and effort to digest.
You are being conditioned to do the exact opposite — as all of America has been for decades.
And in truth, a lot longer than that. As Alexander Hamilton beautiful put it:
*********************
To see the character of the government and the country so sported with, exposed to so indelible a blot, puts my heart to the torture. . . . Or what is it that thus torments me at a circumstance so calmly viewed by almost everybody else? Am I a fool, a romantic Quixote, or is there a constitutional defect in the American mind?
Were it not for yourself and a few others, I . . . would say . . . there is something in our climate which belittles every animal, human or brute. . . . I disclose to you without reserve the state of my mind. It is discontented and gloomy in the extreme.
I consider the cause of good government as having been put to an issue and the verdict against it.
— Ron Chernow, Hamilton
*********************
We could do something about that, but you’re busy. You’re always busy. Thank you for your time, but please don’t waste mine. And to make that abundantly clear: If you don’t want to click on either of the links below, that’s your prerogative. But here’s the deal: If you don’t earn my time, you don’t get my time. Anything short of specifically addressing my arguments within one or both of the stories below, and you will not hear from me. And to save you some time, I won’t even read your comment if it’s not within the parameters of that opening quote. The first sentence I see that falls outside that domain; will be the last sentence I see.
If you’re turned off by this — that’s the point (to weed you out).
I beat the hell out of both sides, and if you can’t handle some heat — you don’t qualify (so I don’t need ya). Call me whatever you like, I don’t care. For 20 years, I’ve been practically spit on for following principles those same people promote on a daily basis. When it comes to self-satisfied scorn, I’ve heard it all and I’ve seen it all (and made the most of it by making examples out of hermetically sealed minds).
This is the larger story I’m out to tell:
From the Earth to the Moon to “WUT”
https://onevoicebecametwo.life/2024/04/24/from-the-earth-to-the-moon-to-wut/
And this is conduit through which I’m out to tell it:
The Critical Thinking of Sowell’s Crowd: Where Even Math is a Matter of Opinion https://onevoicebecametwo.life/2024/05/12/the-critical-thinking-of-sowells-crowd-where-even-math-is-a-matter-of-opinion/