This week:

• A Dog Meditation
• The Whole Elephant
• Home Movies

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A Dog Meditation

Three years ago, we had to put Lucy to sleep. It hit me hard. She was my daily office companion.

For years, she traveled to and from the office with her “friends.” The pictured monkey was her favorite of my daughters’ cast-off stuffed animals.

I wanted to wait a few years before we brought in a new dog.

My wife and daughters disagreed.

“Molly” arrived a few months before quarantine started.

We get along, and she understands my words and body language. She’ll probably join me at the office in January.

If you are on the fence about adding a pet to the household, you know my view.

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The Whole Elephant

I spent time with a good friend, Adam Silberberg. I wanted his guidance on where to take this newsletter and other related projects. He comes from an advertising strategy and screenwriting background. One of his superpowers: finding the essence.

We focused on my motivation, topics that captured my attention, and what the newsletter is and isn’t.

The room looked like Ted Kaczynski’s cabin:

As we stared at the boards, a clearer picture of what I aspired to do emerged.

We recalled the parable about a group of blind men encountering an elephant for the first time:

Each man feels a different part of the elephant’s body, but only one part, such as a leg or tusk.

They then take turns describing the elephant:

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Each is confident as he describes the elephant while the rest of the men are confused.

Moral of the story: humans tend to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience. Moreover, they ignore other people’s limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true.

Present Day Blindness

Facts emerge from observation, context, and trust in the fact source.

Viewers of Tucker Carlson and Joy Reid see different sections of the original video and hear different historical contexts. The viewers trust their news commentator and distrust the other one.

The result: tens of millions of people walking around with partial views of complex topics. This is why fact-based arguments in debates no longer persuade.

In darker versions of the fable about the blind men and the elephant, the men believe the other is lying and they come to blows.

It's not hard to visualize this darker version.

Big Idea: The Whole Elephant

We need to re-connect with people on the other side. Here's a start: make it easier to see more of the elephant for complex topics.

This was my motivation behind the supply chain story. I listened to friends give simple answers that supported various political views.

When I forward to them the simple diagram and a few Twitter threads that showed the complexity, the politics disappeared. We start to re-connect when they respond, “Yeah, it’s pretty complex.”

Did my sharing stop them from posting a simplistic meme on Facebook?
Did they decide not to forward a partisan email?

If it stopped them, then I helped reduce the polarization. It may be a tiny contribution, but it counts. Especially if they forwarded the complex to others who trade in the simplistic and partisan.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

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Next Steps

I’ll be thinking about names for this digital publication. There’s a good chance it will be renamed The Whole Elephant.

With this name and this concept, future editions would curate and synthesize more views of complex, polarizing topics.

I will still show curious content, like seeing the pandemic through the lens of airplane traffic.

Also, I also plan to finish The iPhone Upgrade Elephant, I mean document :)

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I want to hear from you. If something resonates, let me know.

I will see you in two weeks after deep rest. Enjoy yours.

-Michael

ps - consider buying a tripod for your phone to capture video moments this holiday. We used to call them home movies. Or just interview family members. Photos are great, but video captures more. Here’s a great example with Mandy Patinkin and his wife sharing their unfiltered views on travel to bicycles to space travel. (3 minutes)

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