p. 70-72
In how to control the negativity instinct, which is covered in these pages, the author provides a helpful solution to all those ‘buts’ in the previous posts.
The main point is that perhaps it’s useful to maintain both thoughts in our heads at the same time, that the world is getting better and that things are also bad. I don’t want to mention more on this and how it is explained because that’s what the book is for.
I do want to comment on it though. Of course, by just reading at the previous posts, one can understand that I agree with this notion. It also seems to be against the current expressed desire by people online to start avoiding the news or start seeking to read only positive news, which I find similar to the idea of only wanting to watch “happy” movies.
Although such actions could potentially help some people feel better and increase their well-being, I think such beneficial effect not only could end up being temporary but also the potential negative consequences of avoiding the bad could perhaps cause some damage in the long term.
Also, the brain is quite a marvelous thing. People go through awful situations, some that last as much as a person’s lifetime, and yet the brain finds ways to justify what happened, to find meaning, to alter the perception of this terrible event, in other words, the mind finds ways for that person to cope. It doesn’t always work and sometimes it’s not enough, but perhaps all these terrible news, most of which do not have a direct effect on us, do not affect us as much as we think.
Another suggestion of the author is to not censor history (page 72). I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time now and I find it very important. Unfortunately, it’s been happening. I’m saying this not based on data but because at times I become aware of instances of it. It is tricky. Not to mention that it’s one of these topics where someone can be fooled into thinking they are aware of the truth or be completely unaware that they don’t know anything.
But how do we teach history in a way that not only it is fair but that it also sticks with you? It’s so easy to forget history even if you’ve studied it multiple times over the years. Perhaps this happens because people are asked mostly to pay attention to dates and names and major outcomes instead of the meaning and importance of historical events and better still asked to compare and imagine solutions and alternate outcomes and what those would mean for the future of humanity.
That sounds like a good exercise (probably wouldn’t help with remembering though). Maybe in another post….
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