The Future of Free Will
The Future of Free Will
Long before the technological Renaissance we are in dawned upon us, there was the age old debate about free will and how much of it we truly posses. It is real? Does it exists for us? To what degree? Regardless of where your opinion is on the spectrum of free will there are two things that are certain for us all. One is we all tend to think we know more than we actually do, and we tend to not know what we don't know. Maybe those are both the same but you get the idea.
We are in the midst of a golden era in data. Some believe we haven't even scratched the surface of things to come which can be exciting or scary depending on your perspective. Behavioral economists have proven we are all governed more by emotion and poor impulse control more than we care to acknowledge. The poor habits most of society has does a good job of proving this. At what point however do things get out of control?
Politics are raging these days. People seem more fanatical and tribal than ever. Lost amidst so much of the noise is the signal. A big signal that impacts us all is data. And we voluntarily serve up so much of it about ourselves that companies today know more about our thinking, feelings, and behaviors than we do. This is not good.
Whenever you are online mindlessly surfing the net or on social media, ads pop up tailor made for you. Whatever median you are on, what you look at, what you like, what you have previously bought, pops up on those ads for you. The economy is sustained on us buying things we don't need so it behooves companies to get us to spend what we don't have.
Some retailers have logarithms that can tell if you are pregnant based on your browsing patterns, as new parents are regarded as the holy grail of consumers, this is an important piece of information retailers want.
If companies know we are more emotional and impulsive with our spending habits, and they capitalize on that, is that manipulation? Does that impede our free will? Americans spend sixty billion dollars a years on average on weight loss. Diets, supplements, gym memberships, the works and yet seventy percent of the population is overweight and forty percent is clinically obese and these percentages are traveling in the undesired direction. Whatever people are spending their money on is not working.
The government at times sees it necessary to step in and regulate things when it seems like we can't do it for ourselves. Seatbelt laws, no smoking restrictions, etc. Most people are not where they want to be in their lives. The numbers speak for themselves. People are not happy in their jobs, their relationships, their lives in general. Maybe it's time to flip the 'manipulation' to create optimism, positivity, and rid people of irrational fears but there isn't really any profit to be made off of that. I guess it's better for us to continue to have free will.
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
Long before the technological Renaissance we are in dawned upon us, there was the age old debate about free will and how much of it we truly posses. It is real? Does it exists for us? To what degree? Regardless of where your opinion is on the spectrum of free will there are two things that are certain for us all. One is we all tend to think we know more than we actually do, and we tend to not know what we don't know. Maybe those are both the same but you get the idea.
We are in the midst of a golden era in data. Some believe we haven't even scratched the surface of things to come which can be exciting or scary depending on your perspective. Behavioral economists have proven we are all governed more by emotion and poor impulse control more than we care to acknowledge. The poor habits most of society has does a good job of proving this. At what point however do things get out of control?
Politics are raging these days. People seem more fanatical and tribal than ever. Lost amidst so much of the noise is the signal. A big signal that impacts us all is data. And we voluntarily serve up so much of it about ourselves that companies today know more about our thinking, feelings, and behaviors than we do. This is not good.
Whenever you are online mindlessly surfing the net or on social media, ads pop up tailor made for you. Whatever median you are on, what you look at, what you like, what you have previously bought, pops up on those ads for you. The economy is sustained on us buying things we don't need so it behooves companies to get us to spend what we don't have.
Some retailers have logarithms that can tell if you are pregnant based on your browsing patterns, as new parents are regarded as the holy grail of consumers, this is an important piece of information retailers want.
If companies know we are more emotional and impulsive with our spending habits, and they capitalize on that, is that manipulation? Does that impede our free will? Americans spend sixty billion dollars a years on average on weight loss. Diets, supplements, gym memberships, the works and yet seventy percent of the population is overweight and forty percent is clinically obese and these percentages are traveling in the undesired direction. Whatever people are spending their money on is not working.
The government at times sees it necessary to step in and regulate things when it seems like we can't do it for ourselves. Seatbelt laws, no smoking restrictions, etc. Most people are not where they want to be in their lives. The numbers speak for themselves. People are not happy in their jobs, their relationships, their lives in general. Maybe it's time to flip the 'manipulation' to create optimism, positivity, and rid people of irrational fears but there isn't really any profit to be made off of that. I guess it's better for us to continue to have free will.
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
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