Wait But Why - Tim Urban
This book captures precisely what I’ve been thinking, feeling and discussing in private for many years. It presents my political and other views, often seen as condescending and inappropriate. For some people, like myself, this book might help organize and validate one’s view of the world, but I also believe that many others would be offended by the overall message delivered. Throughout the book, I felt seen and validated but also uncomfortable, confused and questioned my beliefs.
Note: The summary below is just a rough stream of consciousness, with little editing or proofreading, I captured after finishing the book.
I sometimes felt guilty listening to this book because it felt like an echo chamber of my thoughts and private journals. It introduced new pieces of evidence that I had not seen before and went into much more depth than anything I've journaled myself, but it did not present any new ideas I haven't had before. I generally avoid listening or reading things like this because there is little value to having someone else reaffirm what you already know, but I finished it per the recommendation of a close friend.
Growing up in Canada during my formative years, a good friend from a visible minority always reminded me that I would never understand what he and his family had to endure. This settled deep in my conscious and is a never-ending struggle I battle with. In fact, he made me read "Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race," and reading that book was just as discomforting as listening to this one. There's a lot to unpack there, but before I continue, I think it's important to mention that I've experienced racism as a Russian immigrant in a Jewish kindergarten in Israel and then as a Jewish child in an Arab community, notwithstanding the multiple bouts of depression I've gone through as an adult with ADHD & OCD. In addition, the issues brought up in this book are one of the reasons I wasn't comfortable living in the Bay Area - I felt that I couldn't speak openly about my cultural & geo-political opinions.
~~~ High Rung Thinking ~~~
Though it was not a quality I had prior to finishing college, I've become very comfortable saying "I don't know" over the last decade and have tried to surround myself with similar people. I've also increasingly surrounded myself with deep, open-minded, high-conviction, but low-opinion thinkers who are always interested in learning more and evaluating both sides of an argument. This heavily relates to Tim Urban's point of thinking like a scientist VS an attorney VS a sports fan. I'm not a sports fan and have never been attached to a sports team because I've always viewed it as just a collection of people, so what difference does the team make? Is it just the geo-location that pays the bills? I've also never understood law because how can someone be "paid to be forced to prove a specific point of view," even if it may not represent the actual facts? What Tim Urban refers to as "low-rung politics" is a concept I never understood and is something I associate with people I've decided to remove from my life. I do my best to follow a "high-rung" thought process in everything I attempt or strive for in life, though I am aware there is still a ton of room for improvement. High-run politics always felt like the obvious thing to do, and listening to this idea being validated made me uncomfortable because what does that mean I think of other people? My instinct wants to say that there are a ton of incompetent, ignorant people who are unwilling to put the effort to think, but that makes me reflect on myself as an asshole.
~~~ Political Labels ~~~
Up until the age of 18, I could never understand why I had to label myself as a "liberal," "concentrative," "democratic," "republican," or somewhere on that spectrum. I was always able to compartmentalize which of my approaches or thoughts are seen as liberal and conservative in society. Still, I was perplexed about how that would transfer to myself being one or the other in all circumstances. The world changes, the people in each party change, and so do I through my life experiences. It never made sense, but I had to accept that that's what society is, and this book comforted me that I'm likely not the only one in this situation. I'm comfortable saying that I am pro "high-run conservatism" but would never be comfortable associating myself with the label of a "Republican." A label is a uniform, not a mindset, and there's no reason for us to commit to wearing the same uniform all the time.
~~~ Racism & Activism ~~~
Tim makes the case that society sees the lack of activism in favour of racism as an act of racism, and per our society, those that are not visual minorities would never understand. Again, I agree with Tim's viewpoints on this, but I'm conflicted because all the time I spent living in the Bay area, I was surrounded by contradicting ideals. It's unlikely that anyone will ever read this sentence, but I do believe I can relate to how it feels. I have experienced other forms of racism, a light degree of poverty, multiple immigrations and multiple bouts of mental issues.
~~~ SJF ~~~
I don't have much to add on the SJF (Social Justice Fundamentalism), aka Liberal Progressivism, points he mentioned, but they align and relate to everything that was said. It's unfortunate that universities have become SJF labs instead of idea labs, and that so many intellectuals have their hands tied behind their backs.
~~~ (Karl) Popper's Paradox ~~~
The Paradox of Tolerance." It goes like this: If everyone is tolerant of every idea, then intolerant ideas will emerge. Tolerant people will tolerate this intolerance, and the intolerant people will not tolerate the tolerant people."
I recently started listening to a podcast about Karl Popper's work and I absolutely loved this quote.
~~~ Quotes & Concepts ~~~
The following are just general quotes & concepts I wanted to capture while listening to the audiobook:
- "Technology makes for better good times and worse bad times."
- "Scientists are not afraid to say I don't know."
- "Research idea labs, not echo chambers."
- "Primitive minds aggregate when there's concentrated tribalism."
- "Wise people create good times; good times create foolish people; foolish people create bad times."
- "Awareness but silence (without courage) changes nothing."
- "In order to be truly anti-racist, you also have to truly be anti-capitalist."
- Some schools have stopped referring to the fundamentals laws of classical physics as "Neuton's laws of motion".
- Fair doesn't mean we don't all stand on the same wooden box (i.e. similar opportunity), but it's the fact that some of us have wooden fences (i.e. hurdles) in front of us.
- Asking for examples of racism is a form of racism in itself.
- The Google gender manifesto may have had some valid points behind it, and a healthy high-run environment would have been more accepting of discussing it in public.
- Arguing against BLM or SJF is like arguing against religion during the dark ages.
- SJF silence is often seen as violence