This article explores the human tendency to seek certainty, arguing that it often leads to errors in judgment and fuels polarization. It examines how focus, conviction, and negativity bias contribute to this illusion, emphasizing the importance of embracing uncertainty and focusing on positive values.
To create a feeling of certainty, the brain must filter out far more information than it processes.We can temper the illusion of certainty with focus on what we’re for, rather than what we’re against.If I believe it, it’s certain! Conviction is the strong belief that a behavior, idea, or ideology is right and moral.
When powered by the adrenaline emotions—, contempt, disgust—conviction evokes an illusion of certainty, which leads to a great many of the mistakes we make in life. Certainty is an emotional state, not an intellectual one. To create a feeling of certainty, the brain must filter out far more information than it processes, which, of course, greatly increases its already high error rate during emotional arousal. In other words, the more certain we feel, the more likely we’re wrong. Mental focus, the foundation of feelings of certainty, distorts reality by magnifying and amplifying selected aspects of it, while filtering out everything else. You may discover more details about the aspects of your focus. But what you discover will have no contextual meaning; you have isolated the selected aspects from their dynamic interaction with the rest of reality. In other words, focus magnifies things out of proportion and context.. The dynamics of polarization makes all sides more extreme in reaction to each other. It makes us more likely to burn bridges than seek common ground. In a polarized world, we’re all at least partially wrong. “Easily offended” was once considered a symptom of those who suffer from fragile egos and rigid perspectives, who regard disagreements as personal attacks. Today,"easily offended" is a badge of honor; if you’re not easily offended, you don’t care, or worse., everyone has a voice, which they use mostly to react to everyone else’s voice. The ubiquity of social media has created unprecedented pressure toto the views of whatever pole we identify with. The current polarization seems to have more to do with ingroup contagion and outgroup reactivity than to deeply held conviction. I’m reminded of Carl Jung’s famous quote:The current proliferation of negative labels in public discourse is patently pejorative, used to signal tribalism, while attacking, if not dehumanizing, other tribes. The transgressions of humane values committed by my tribe are okay, but those perpetrated by yours are intolerable. Weaponizing words negatively influences behavior more than the meaning of the words, especially those that have multiple and debatable meanings in various contexts. Negative labels slur people while obscuring solutions to complex problems. Far from eliciting Negative labels focus on what users are against, rather than what they’re for. Little positive change comes from being against something, whether it's, sexism, ageism, or any ism. Positive change is more likely to result from working for equality of respect, value, and opportunity. How we cope with uncertainty determines how well we do in life. If we can tolerate it, uncertainty drives us to learn more and connect to one another. It can make us smarter and more compassionate. Unfortunately, we're prone to react to uncertainty, not by learning and connecting, but by trying to pretend that it doesn't exist. Instead of seeing it as a friend, we vainly try to defeat it—or cover it up—with dogma, The best way to know that you’re acting out of conviction and not resentment or arrogance is to state why your behavior is right and moral. If your answer has conviction, it will embody your deeper values. If it's resentful or arrogant, it will devalue someone else.something—mistreatment of loved ones, injustice, or unfairness. The distinction may seem subtle, but it’s crucial in terms ofsomething creates positive feelings of interest, passion, or joy, which tend to improve health and relationships. We fantasize about improving relationships and building a better world.There’s been a fundamental shift in how we define adulthood—and at what pace it occurs. PT’s authors consider how a once iron-clad construct is now up for grabs—and what it means for young people’s mental health today.
CERTAINTY CONVICTION FOCUS POLARIZATION UNCERTAINTY
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