We explore and highlight the complexities of being human through various lenses.We believe in the transformative power of exploring and celebrating the diversity of human experience. "There is no one right way to live."
The Art of Curiosity and Paradox (In an Information-loaded world)
Published 3 months ago • 6 min read
Humanity Academy
Notes on Humanity
February 2024
Hello fellow human,
We have a saying at Humanity Academy:
"We have questions... you have answers"
In this Free issue of Notes on Humanity - Things we are pondering… things that are pushing us to learn more. Some things we are curious about.
And, some things we are working on.
First! Learning Journals 101
We released our first paid course - and you are invited to receive 50% off.
On our Humanity Academy Virtual Academy
Three packed modules, multiple videos, and access to several articles we have written on this topic.
In an age of information overload, ignorance is no longer a valid existence (for the most part), but how do we know what to trust?
Just because something exists in words or images does not make it the truth, but it was probably some sort of truth for someone at some point.
But, consider this for a second: OpenAI - the company that owns and operates ChatGPT - is beta-testing a new text-to-video program: Sora. 🤯
Thus, imagery and words can lead us away from truths. And they can also instigate some deeper questions about who we are... our identities.
• • •
Getting Curious
Getting curious about what is out there (and inside us) can assist us in drawing boundaries around who we are as individuals (and maybe who we are NOT).
Most of us have a pretty strong bullshit meter, and yet we can all be swayed by words from peddlers of bullshit and 'bullshit barkers'.
There is no shortage of it in the online world, in the $250 billion Creator Economy deluge.
What is something you are curious about in this world?
One of our founders (Lisa) has been curious about making frames for her art. Embarking on a journey of creating (and learning)…
...she realized there was much more to it than just clamping some pieces of wood together (esp. when the frame is metal...) 👇
Schooling is very good at telling us what we should be learning or need to know -- and many of us didn’t have the chance to explore other things, especially those of us who are Native Analog.
Native Analog refers to folks who were born and had some childhood pre-Internet. This is in contrast to folks who are Native Digital (like our 3 teenagers).
(These two terms come from the Category Pirates, a popular marketing newsletter on Substack).
• • •
Both Lisa and Dave (Co-founders) spent no shortage of time in their youth combing through every book in Encyclopedia Britannica, or otherwise.
We both grew up in rural communities with limited libraries in our schools. A lot of what we were seeking for knowledge came from National Geographic magazine or some other subscription.
Now, in the present day...
Both of us get lost in whatever kind of hole we can imagine. Lost in a rabbit hole, a wormhole, a fox hole... and so on. We're both wired with curiosity.
How about you?
What is something you’ve been curious about this week, month, year?
What is something that you haven’t taken much time to explore?
One of Lisa’s go-tos is to find a podcast or video discussing the topic she's curious about - or seek out another human who has intel (engaging in the lost art of kitchen table discussions).
Dave's go-to is generally reading. It can be online, in a book, or maybe in a magazine.
We both thrive on curiosity.
And, in the process of establishing our Solopreneur businesses and this educational startup Humanity Academy -- we've had to get curious about so many things.
How to build and launch Free 5-day educational email course (between us we've launched 9)
How to build and launch those on ConvertKit, along with this newsletter.
How to build a website and utilize Google Workspace.
How to launch a YouTube channel.
How to build and launch a course on Thinkific (our Virtual Academy).
How to launch and write on Medium, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and so on, and so on.
Our journeys of curiosity, from creating digital content to engaging with new technologies, have not just fuelled our professional growth—it's also been key to our mental and emotional well-being.
(And, have been a fun added element to our 15-year marriage)
There's no shortage of clichés and blither-blather about taking on new challenges and leaning into learning opportunities - for supporting a healthy brain and mindset.
And, for good reason, curiosity is pretty darn good for your brain, mental well-being, and overall health.
But it can also bring so many other benefits too.
Why prioritize learning something new?
Diving into new subjects can boost your mental health, enhance problem-solving, and offer a sense of accomplishment.
Tracking these in Learning Journals can be an immensely powerful process.
Here are ten reasons highlighting how being curious is not only good for your personal and intellectual growth but also for maintaining a healthy mind and body.
1. Cognitive Flexibility: encourages your brain to adapt to different ways of thinking, problem-solving, and processing information.
2. Creativity and Innovation: When you combine ideas from different domains, you can generate unique insights and solutions that may not have been apparent when focusing solely on familiar subjects.
3. Broadened Knowledge Base: You might discover unexpected connections between seemingly unrelated topics, which can be valuable in both personal and professional contexts.
4. Improved Problem-Solving: Exposure to various thought processes and methods can help you tackle challenges more effectively.
5. Intellectual Growth: Keeps your mind engaged and continually learning, which can be personally fulfilling and contribute to lifelong learning (plus just good for the brain).
6. Resilience: The ability to learn and adapt to new subjects can be an important skill in a quickly changing world. Think of things like rapid climate change and the flood of AI and Machine Learning.
7. Enhanced Communication: You’ll be better equipped to connect with people from different backgrounds and engage in more meaningful exchanges and dialogues.
8. Stress Reduction: Engaging with new ideas can provide a mental break from your routine and reduce the impact of stress and anxiety.
9. Personal Satisfaction: Exploring new topics and thinking non-habitually can be personally satisfying and empowering.
10. Long-Term Brain Health: Regularly challenging your mind with novel ideas and topics may have long-term benefits for brain health, potentially reducing the risk of cognitive decline.
Being Curious could become one of the key super skills in a world changing at a rapid rate. For example, some of the impacts of climate already underway (and yet to come).
Linked to this is the power of navigating and holding paradoxes.
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The Power of Paradoxes
We are living in an information-loaded world. There are suggestions that ChatGPT has now integrated and synthesized everything that exists on the Internet.
This is a bit kooky to contemplate.
Over 5 billion people on the planet now have access to the Internet. Over 4 billion people are on social media. There are 3 billion monthly users on Facebook alone.
With this unfathomable access to information, living in, processing, and contemplating -- Navigating and appreciating paradox is an essential skill.
Paradoxes challenge our conventional thinking, pushing us to lean into complexity and ambiguity with curiosity plus open hearts and minds.
Here are 5 thoughts on why swimming in the realm of paradoxes can be transformative:
• Enhanced Critical Thinking:
Confronting paradoxes requires us to examine assumptions, question standard narratives, and look beyond surface contradictions.
This process sharpens our many thinking skills, enabling us to navigate complex and sticky issues more effectively.
• Emotional Literacy (Intelligence):
Recognizing and accepting the coexistence of conflicting emotions and truths supports emotional resilience.
This can assist us in holding space for ambiguity, messiness, gray areas, and more -- leading to a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.
• Innovation through Integration:
The intersection of opposing ideas is a fertile ground for creativity. By synthesizing contrasting perspectives, we uncover innovative solutions that transcend conventional boundaries.
Things are the way they are because someone thought to change the way they were (Category Pirates).
• Spiritual Growth:
Paradoxes are central to many spiritual traditions, which often promote the idea that understanding life's mysteries requires moving beyond dualistic thinking (e.g., either/or). This journey can lead to profound insights and a sense of interconnectedness with the universe.
• Authentic Dialogues:
Engaging with paradoxes encourages us to listen more deeply and speak with more depth and connection. This can elevate our conversations from potentially polarized debates to meaningful dialogues, building bridges in a divided world.
By daring to explore the murky, edgy, gray spaces between certainties, we can expand our intellectual horizons and cultivate a more compassionate and flexible approach to life.
The power of paradoxes lies in their ability to open our minds and hearts to the mass diversity of human experience, reminding us that wisdom often resides in the balancing of opposites.
And... curiosity is what fuels this.
Are there some paradoxes that you are curious about? Or, currently, navigating?
We explore and highlight the complexities of being human through various lenses.We believe in the transformative power of exploring and celebrating the diversity of human experience. "There is no one right way to live."