Few of us are committed to having an evidence-based worldview — it’s truly hard to do. We have to remain open-minded, but also skeptical of what we read and hear. Even when presented with the facts, changing our minds isn’t easy to do. Tribalism is natural to humankind ….
What if we have to change our political position, or campaign for something that we previously campaigned against?
Some of us have done just this. Others fear losing their tribe, which is part of their identity. People on both sides of the political spectrum — right and left — are stuck in polarized arenas that mean ascribing to the same views.
The greatest challenges the world faces can be largely addressed with existing solutions, but many technologies we could be using right now are not deployed due to public fear and misunderstanding — technologies like genetically modified organisms, lab-grown food, artificial intelligence, and nuclear power.
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We need to accept that technologies we might find irrationally scary can have a huge positive impact, while renewable energy sources take their own toll on local environments and people, and are therefore not automatically the “environmentally-friendly” solution that people argue them to be.
We are calling this approach “eco-rational”.
