Ted Circles August 2021 - Irrational

A much-needed discussion to analyse rationality and irrationality of human behaviour.

Ted circles?is a theme based monthly activity which focuses on impactful, meaningful conversations among people in all walks of life. For this circle, seven people gathered to discuss the topic to ensure they are not mere spectators but parts of the conversation.

The event was held on 20th August at 3:00PM (IST). The agenda on the docket was ‘Irrational’. All the contributors were committed to discussing how rationality and irrationality are deeper than they seem. The host of the event,?Preeti Chaudhary invited Aman Chaudhary and Capt. Satyendra Vaidya?to the stage with?Binati Sheth acting as the scribe for the event.

Before the event began, Preeti suggested a few videos for reference. The videos were:

• Why you think you're right — even if you're wrong by Julia Galef
• The biology of our best and worst selves by Robert Sapolsky

Based on these videos and their personal experiences, the four members in the panel address their preconceptions, observations and opinions.

The event proceeded like this:

• Basic introductions.
• How did the talks resonate with you?
• Your personal perception of the topic.
• Personal experiences.
• Did you learn something?
• Closing remarks

Aman Chaudhary echoed the sentiments of the Julia by asking us to look beyond the things shown to us. The ‘Scout vision’, the ability to see beyond the visible things is a good habit. He said how we can’t really believe people and rely on them readily because we can’t see what is really going on in their life. He asked us to practice foresightedness. He asked us to have vision. He urged us to pre-prepare. All of these allow us to deal with things in life. He quipped, “Being agile never hurts anyone.” He further asked us to always have a questioning mindset. “It is incredibly important to be rational,” he noted. He then highlighted the virtue of patience. “Certain things take time to develop,” he said, “so develop an inquisitive, curious mindset rather than a judgemental one.” He concluded by noting the virtues of being rational. He stressed upon the importance to learn to be free from biases and prejudices.

Capt. Satyendra Vaidya, as always came in with a motivated approach to the word irrationality. Relying on his armed forces experience, he told us how FIRs or First Information Reports are about what one actually sees (rather than what things seem to be). He then asked us about ancient texts and how all of them stress upon the power of the mind. “The human mind,” he said, “is very powerful and can change situation.”

He then took a trip down memory lane to showcase the power of the personal element to irrationality. He remembered an accident his team dealt with and later wrote reports about. They were questioned by their superiors about the same. While discussing the events of the day, Capt. Vaidya realised how their reports and their individual interviews had a subtle difference in that the stimuli from the superiors subconsciously changed the way his team saw things happening in real-time (as noted in their written reports). He also succinctly noted, “A lot of our behaviour gets affected by our experiences.” He told us to guard against both of these phenomena.

With the temperament of a wise sage, he advised, “Use your experience to find a solution to the problem. To identify the problem, be truthful and not cloudy minded. Know the difference between narrating facts and studying facts.” He responded to the detour about media and manipulation by asking us to be vary of the financial incentive of being irrational. Rounding things off perfectly, he asked us to use the power of the mind to bring about positive outcomes. He concluded by pontificating, “You have to be true. Whenever this thought of someone being irrational comes to your head, think; think truthfully. Focus on diffusing the situation.”

Binati Sheth, a Dr. Sapolsky fan stated toxoplasmosis as an example and how it infects a seemingly non-impulsive person and turns them into an impulsive douche canoe. She noted how irrationality might also be physiological in nature and not just psychological. Listening to Dr. Vaidya’s tale, she remembered Dr. Roslings’ Factfullness (a book) and went on a giant detour talking about how acquired beliefs and actual beliefs are two incredibly different things. When we acquire beliefs, irrationality seems to show up more when compared to having actual beliefs. Actual beliefs teach us to discuss whereas acquired beliefs teach us to debate.

She then talked about how she has had bouts of (seeming) irrationality. All of that changed with what she termed, ‘the golden words’ – You are right. Whenever debate takes over discussion, she learned to butt out with the aforementioned golden words. “Everything makes sense in retrospect,” she said like a smug Cheshire cat. Binati then cited Trofim Lysenko and how his (I-won’t-listen-to-anyone-because-I-did-my-own-research) rationale costed an estimated 15-30 million lives, lives that could have been saved if people practiced rational thinking. “Truth,” she sighed, “We all have truths. Ultimately, that’s where the pickle starts to rot. Factual truth. Emotional truth. Situational truth. Circumstantial truth. Etc.” She concluded with these amazing quotes from HBO’s Chernobyl, “Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid…When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there but it is still there.”

Preeti Chaudhary talked about the negative stimuli of irrationality. Unlike rationality, which often has a positive stimulus, irrationality often always has a negative one. We can utilise this to check up on everything within our hearts, mind and soul. She defined irrational as something lacking reason or understanding. “If you describe someone's feelings and behaviour as irrational, you mean they are not based on logical reasons or clear thinking.” What it might also be is them unconsciously echoing the stimuli of others' thoughts. This is where she urged us to look at the third person point-of-view (POV). Whenever someone shows some irrational behaviour (according to you), rather than confronting them, step back and look at the situation from a third person POV. “There is enough space in the world for everyone,” she smiled. Then she used her experience to suggest a way to deal with irrationality:

1. Listen and Let Them Vent.
2. Make a Personal Connection.
3. Summarize What You Heard.
4. Stay Calm.
5. Pay Attention to Your Word Choice.
6. Be Empathetic in Coping with Irrational People.
7. Ask Questions.
8. Detach Yourself from The Situation

She concluded by citing railway tracks as a metaphor. Railway tracks always run parallel to each other. They are designed like that on purpose. In their parallel coexistence, these trains carry us to whichever destination we please. Rationality and irrationality are like that as well. Learn to run parallel to people’s narratives. Learn to detach. Learn empathy. Live and let live.

Event name:?Ted Circles?Irrational

Host:?Preeti Chaudhary

If you enjoyed this summary, you will definitely enjoy this Playlist:

See you soon on 10th September to discuss ‘Imagination’.

To sign up for the event in September, check the link below and RSVP 'Yes' to attend:

A TL;DR version of this talk is attached below.

Enjoy!