Stop Trusting Your Intuition

If you haven't looked at this dress yet, then you've either just come out of a cryogenic freeze or somehow you've managed to avoid the rest of the internet on your online journey to my blog (in either extremely unlikely event, read this before going any further). We each look at the same picture and because of some evolutionary differences in the way that we perceive colors 68% of people see white and gold and 32% see blue and black. So, since we live in a democracy does that make the dress white and gold? No. Even though most people's intuition is screaming that it's white and gold, the dress is in fact black and blue. The color we see is just our brain's interpretation of the visual evidence, and facts (such as the actual color of the dress) don't change what we see.*

Our upbringing, experiences, and mental wiring all contribute to our experienced reality as our brains continually sort through an overwhelming amount of data. The different ways we interpret information lead to our individual biases (liberal/conservative, pro-GMO/anti-GMO, blue dress/white dress, etc.), and the online media and social bubbles we surround ourselves with just reaffirm those biases. When trying to bridge that widening chasm we cite facts and then shout at each other in frustration, condescension, and self-righteous indignation. As I wrote about a few weeks ago, we become internet assholes. And, after all of that, some people still see blue and black and some people see white and gold.

But, just as the dress is in fact blue and black, there are core truths out there. As this National Geographic article clearly articulates, it's counter intuitive to believe that the earth revolves around the sun (and not the other way around), that humans evolved from sea creatures, and that carbon dioxide (which we all exhale) is changing our climate. We are notoriously bad at accepting what the truth is rather than what we want it to be. Which is why Galileo spent the last nine years of his life under house arrest, four in ten Americans continue to believe humans were created by God 10,000 years ago, and we continue to catastrophically alter our climate. 

Science can give us truths (or get us near to them), but we're still often left with shitty answers. Knowing that the only solution to climate change is a drastic reduction in carbon emissions doesn't get us any closer to reducing emissions. Only government can do that. 

And, with those five words I have successfully alienated half of my potential readers. The expansion of governmental authority necessitated by the climate crisis sets off alarm bells in the neural pathways of all conservatives. The same alarm bells that inevitably go off in 62% of the population when I say that the dress is blue and black. 

"Trust your intuition," is the response I most commonly hear when arguing the merits of genetic modification. And, yes, my intuition sets off a quiet alarm bell every time I consciously take a bite of food that I know has been genetically modified. And, for years I opposed the technology and the seed companies who perpetuate it. If your intuition also tells you that genetic modification is an assault on nature, then we're seeing the same color dress.** But, because I trust the scientific method and I understand the incredible benefits of biotech, I now go beyond my intuition to support genetic engineering. With no physical evidence to support the notion, I also believe scientists when they tell me that the earth revolves around the sun.  

In our new age of extreme tribalism, we discredit sources who we disagree with. Because I've shown my hand as a liberal by saying "only government can do that" and because I'm a committed evangelist for genetic engineering-- I have alienated myself from the large majority of people. About half the country is conservative and 80% of remaining liberals are "concerned" about genetic engineering. That doesn't leave very many people in my lonely camp. If you still regularly read my blog (or if you've gotten this far) chances are that you agree with me (somewhere around 10% of the population is in this camp). Those who disagree are back at Foxnews.com or Naturalnews.com. 

The internet makes it too easy to isolate ourselves in like minded groups and enables us to search out a limitless amount of literature and news sources that agree with us. As we drift further apart the other side looks increasingly illogical and immoral. I've repeatedly been called an industry shill for my defense of both Kaua'i Island Utility Co-op and the seed companies. Employees of the seed companies have been called baby killers. Vehement pro-GMO activists have called for the "absolute destruction of the anti-Science movement" and a testifier at a recent Kaua'i County Council meeting said that government consists of a "bunch of scum sucking parasites." If we don't understand the other side, it's easy to subscribe simplified notions to their motivations. Mayor Carvalho must be in the pocket of the seed companies and Councilmen Gary Hooser is just a self-serving politician.*** Our biases and intuitions lead us into opposing camps, those camps spit out simplified reasoning for why the other side is wrong, and it reinforces itself until we are so polarized that we can't even have a dialogue. 

But, once again, the dress really is blue and black. Buried beneath the bullshit, the flaming arrows, and the moral mud are some truths. Sometimes they are aligned with our mental reasoning and sometimes they are not. The challenge is to go beyond our intuition to find those truths. And, in so doing, to get to some solutions. 

As Larry Tool wrote in a recent Civil Beat article: "No matter how right we think we are, we need to remember that we may still be mistaken. More important yet, even if our opponent is wrong, we still need to defend his or her right to participate on equal terms. Once we forget that, we are on the way to losing the free society which makes activism possible."

I am in a camp. I see blue and black, I voted for Obama, and I am pro-vaccine. But, when I see contrary evidence (as in the case of GMOs) I have to force myself to step out of my mental comfort zone. It's what scientists, by definition, have to do. It's what a good journalist does. And it's what makes for effective leaders. Camps define us as human beings. They allow us to empathize with similar individuals and create cohesive tribes. But, our ability to step out of our individual camps and accept evidence, even when it assaults our subconscious, is what moved us from rain dances to meteorology and human sacrifices to modern medicine.  

While it may be as futile as putting on a seatbelt while at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, and this was a much longer introduction than I had intended, I hope to start systematically digging deeper into each of the monstrous issues we face as an island. What fundamental truths are at the base of our deepest problems, and how can those truths illuminate a path forward?**** Most importantly, how can we change the status-quo? 

Because my mind is still swirling around waste to energy, I'm going to start with energy. What are the options and can we realistically move to 100% renewable energy? I don't have much free time, so, like always, my posts will be sporadic and far between. If you're looking for moral outrage or good vs evil justifications, you won't find it here. For the small camp of readers that are still with me, thank you for reading. As much as I hope to challenge you in my writing, I encourage you to challenge me in the comments.    

* For the record, I see blue and black. But, for about 30 seconds it switched clearly to white and gold and then back again. I understand both perceptions, but I also know there is only one right answer.

** That was meant figuratively, not literally. 

*** Obviously I disagree with both of those simplified moral judgements. But, interestingly, in trying to find the term of speech for moral judgements like that, I stumbled into the Galileo Gambit: just because someone is persecuted for their belief doesn't make their belief any more true. It's tangentially relevant and worth the quick wikipedia read.   

**** Just for clarification, I am not an investigative journalist or a science reporter. Luckily, we have both on Kaua'i (check out Joan Conrow at Kaua'i Eclectic and Jan Tenbruggencate at Raising Islands). I'm just someone who likes to research and is committed to spending a few hours a week regurgitating information that is readily available online.