Messages and perceptions often fail to produce intended realities

by Ingrid Solheim About Ingrid SolheimOctober 23, 20266 links · ~72 min read · ~1 min for the TL;DR

Marginal Notes by Ingrid Solheim: six links on Culture every week.

TL;DR

Shocking people with warnings that the world is ending can backfire and produce the opposite of action during terrible crises.
What people claim as true is not a fixed ceiling they fail to reach, but something that changes as they climb toward it.
CBS News' editor-in-chief pledged to speak for seventy-five per cent of people on the center right and center left, though the reality differs.
Scary movies create tension in the space between perception and recognition as the brain tries to determine what it sees.
Author David Treuer's Ojibwe mother saw America as destructive to her people, while his Jewish refugee father saw the country as saving his life.
Lee Chang-dong’s film “Possible Love” depicts a community’s devastation through a documentary lens and the story of two very different couples.

From the curator

Our understanding of the world often breaks down in the gap between intended messages and how people actually experience them. The Guardian's 6-minute article notes that shocking people with news that the world is ending may produce the opposite of the desired action. Similarly, Vinson Cunningham's 8-minute article in The New Yorker points out that despite CBS News' editor-in-chief pledging to speak for seventy-five per cent of people on the center right and center left, the reality is different. In Arryn Robbins's 5-minute article for The Conversation, tension emerges in the space between perception and recognition as the brain tries to determine what it is seeing. Whether defining truth, interpreting history, or observing a devastated community, straightforward claims constantly shift against observed realities.

Ingrid Solheim

Curated for this issue

the Guardian6 min readThe problem with telling people the world is ending
In the face of terrible crises, it can feel right to shock people into action. But what if that has the opposite effect?

aeon.co16 min readThe century-long search for the limits to knowledge | Aeon Essays
What we claim as ‘true’ is not a ceiling we are forever failing to reach but something that changes as we climb toward it

The New Yorker8 min readThe Bari Weiss Effect on “60 Minutes”
CBS News’ editor-in-chief has pledged to “speak for the seventy-five per cent” of people on the center right and the center left; the reality is different.

Vinson Cunningham · curated 1 time

The Conversation5 min readHorror films exploit how human vision works to deliver movies’ best scares
Scary movies create tension in that space between perception and recognition, as your brain tries to determine what, exactly, you’re seeing.

Arryn Robbins · curated 1 time

NPR28 min read'The Savage Mind' author says America's violent past is embedded in its present
Writer David Treuer's Ojibwe mother saw America as a country that tried to destroy her people. For his father, a Jewish refugee, the U.S. was the country that saved his life.

The New Yorker8 min readThe Fragile Unions of “Possible Love”
In Lee Chang-dong’s brilliantly acted new film, “Possible Love,” a community’s devastation plays out through a documentary lens—and through a tale of two very different couples.

Justin Chang · curated 1 time

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From the curator

the Guardian6 min readThe problem with telling people the world is endingIn the face of terrible crises, it can feel right to shock people into action. But what if that has the opposite effect?

aeon.co16 min readThe century-long search for the limits to knowledge | Aeon EssaysWhat we claim as ‘true’ is not a ceiling we are forever failing to reach but something that changes as we climb toward it

The New Yorker8 min readThe Bari Weiss Effect on “60 Minutes”CBS News’ editor-in-chief has pledged to “speak for the seventy-five per cent” of people on the center right and the center left; the reality is different.

The Conversation5 min readHorror films exploit how human vision works to deliver movies’ best scaresScary movies create tension in that space between perception and recognition, as your brain tries to determine what, exactly, you’re seeing.

NPR28 min read'The Savage Mind' author says America's violent past is embedded in its presentWriter David Treuer's Ojibwe mother saw America as a country that tried to destroy her people. For his father, a Jewish refugee, the U.S. was the country that saved his life.

The New Yorker8 min readThe Fragile Unions of “Possible Love”In Lee Chang-dong’s brilliantly acted new film, “Possible Love,” a community’s devastation plays out through a documentary lens—and through a tale of two very different couples.