#1 The Blurry Glasses.

Humans tend to think about the world as a collection of binary scenarios. We constantly image two options, one right and one wrong.

Everyone does this. Every day.

• East vs. West

• Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

• Solar vs. Nuclear

• Left vs. Right

We see the world in black and white.

“Screw you Johan, I’m always very nuanced.” - Rudolph Random

Oh the irony. Well, let’s see.

Do you agree with any of the following statements?

1. Trump is an asshole. Voting republican is insane.

2. AI unlocks huge productivity gains. It can end poverty.

3. Elon Musk is crazy. He is a sexist, greedy ego-maniac.

No? What about any of these?

1. Biden is clearly too old to be in office. Democrats are blinded by wokeness.

2. AI is dangerous. We need to stop it before it kills us.

3. Elon Musk is a genius. He has done more for humanity than almost anyone.

That’s what I thought. You’re a binary thinker like the rest of us. 🤷‍♂️

I have a pair of old glasses. They are scratchy and not the right strength for my eyes. The world is blurry when I put them on. The sharp line between black and white is no longer sharp. It’s blurry. It’s actually not even a line anymore. Nuances have appeared. I’ve un-seen the line.

I no longer see the world as black and white.

My blurry glasses are of course a metaphor. I don’t really own a pair of blurry glasses.

But I have a pair of regular, non-blurry, glasses.

Whenever I take them off to clean them, I remind myself about my metaphorical, blurry, glasses and think about the conversations and thoughts I’ve had during the day.

Stacking this new habit on top of an already existing one helps me remember it.

When putting my glasses back on, I ask myself:

Have I been a binary thinker today?

Most days the answer is Yes.

But some days, thanks to my blurry glasses, I can proudly answer Maybe.

Try the Blurry Glasses model for a day. Stack it on top of one of your existing habits to remember it.

Have YOU been a binary thinker today?

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I’m sure you’ve heard the flawed expression "There is a fine line between genius and crazy".

It infers two states, genius and crazy, between which there is a diverging line.

This is not the correct way to reason.

Genius and crazy are not two states, nor are they two traits. They are two expressions of a human mind. Any one of us is capable of acts of genius as well as acts of crazy.

That doesn't mean that we all keep alternating between being geniuses and lunatics.

On the contrary, these two expressions are often one and the same. The only thing that differs them from each other is the subjective impression they make on other human beings.

So, is Elon Musk crazy or is he a genius?

Well, in the end, the collective consciousness of the audience will mercilessly decide if a person is crazy or a genius. Often completely missing the fact that they are neither but just expressing a behaviour which could be interpreted as either or.

The line never existed.