Why Bullshit Mountain Has To Be Taken Seriously

"We face a deficiency in our problem solving mechanism." and "I call this alternate reality Bullshit Mountain," says John Stewart in a debate (2012) with Bill O'Reilly. Stewart continues by saying: "On Bullshit Mountain our problems are amplified and our solutions simplified."

Fox News has mastered in telling us what we should think and has put its messages on repeat. Over and over again the same talking points. In court if a statement is not contested, it stands. For the court it is true, even if it isn't in normal life. A legal reality has been created.

This is why politicians repeat the same message over and over again, because it works. We all learn (and remember) by repetition. If we repeat something often enough it becomes a habit, we don't think about it anymore. We have developed an automatic way of dealing with a certain situation, person or topic. A routine.

Information that disrupts the routine of thinking one has acquired is often taken personally and strongly rejected without further inspection. It does not fit in ones framework or box. It is out of ones reality. So be aware of the routines you're having or are building up. Don't be afraid of investigating your own believes and thoughts. This does not mean that there's something wrong with repetition. It is an efficient way of remembering stuff and making something go automatically. It saves a lot of energy. This is great if you're aware of the routines of thinking you have and those routines are good for you. Then there's no problem. Christopher Hitchens made an important observation on (critical) thinking:

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks."

The main reason I love The Daily Show is because it is constantly addressing the way in which people are thinking. The Daily Show has mastered in clearly showing repeated patterns of behavior of people and organizations. The different (collective) mental frameworks. If you want to train critical thinking skills Jon Stewart is the best teacher you can wish for. Another exercise you can try is keeping two contradictory thoughts in your head at the same time, as explained by Bruce Springsteen. If you want to do some self-examination with regard to your personal framework of emotional triggers, the buttons which always set you off, I recommend the following exercise by Paul Ekman.

John Cleese states that our mind operates in two stances: an open and a closed modus. According to Cleese we get too often stuck in the Fox News Modus, I mean the closed modus. Cleese describes the closed modus as purposefully and active. A modus in which one is a slightly anxious and a little tensioned. According to Cleese this is how we are most of the time. A little bit like Fox News we are. By contrast, the open modus, is a relaxed, expansive, less purposeful modus in which we're probably more contemplative, more inclined to humor (which always accompanies a wider perspective) and, consequently, more playful. Cleese also mentions without a doubt that we need both modes, open and closed. To illustrate that a closed modus is also needed he remarks:

"If you decide to leap a ravine, the moment just before take-off is a bad time to start reviewing alternative strategies. When you're attacking a machine-gun post you should not make a particular effort to see the funny side of what you are doing."

As I already mentioned we get stuck in this closed modus much too often. The main complaint about politicians Cleese says (and I joyfully add Fox News) is, that they become so addicted to the adrenaline that they get from reacting to events on an hour-by-hour basis, that they almost completely lose the desire or the ability to ponder problems in the open modus. Like Hitchens, Cleese is addressing how we think and not what we think. Cleese is very clear on how creativity is killed most effectively:

"Now the people I find it hardest to be creative with are people who need all the time to project an image of themselves as decisive. And who feel that to create this image they need to decide everything very quickly and with a great show of confidence. Well, this behavior I suggest sincerely, is the most effective way of strangling creativity at birth."

If you want to learn how to get in a state of mind in which creativity can flourish, then watch this lecture on the creative process of Cleese and/or read the transcript out of which I have been ruthlessly copying text into this blog.

"We face a deficiency in our problem solving mechanism," says our Master Teacher Critical Thinking Jon Stewart. We're operating in the closed modus as a society most of the time. We need to open our collective mind. As the Dalai Lama has presumably said: "Your mind is like a parachute. It only works when it is open." I am still trying to find out from whom this quote is originally; the Dalai Lama himself, Frank Zappa, Anthony J. D'Angelo or someone else. Help me out on this one!

As we have to look to our own routines, we have to look to the routines in a society as well. And deal with those routines which are hindering progress. This is hard because we're used to them and attached to these routines, whether the routines are wright or wrong. Deepak Chopra has said: "Instead of thinking outside the box, get rid of the box." But you cannot get rid of a box if you are not aware of its presence. This is why Picasso has stated: "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."

I believe that the solution for a better world ('the why') is more in organizing the process/environment ('the how') than the desired result ('the what'). This means that academics, artists, business people, politicians and others have to create a new organic cooperation in order for society to flourish as a whole. And keep repeating it or even better regenerate like a beautiful garden. A healthy evolving routinely process. 

Nothing washes bullshit away as much as clear water!

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