{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-post-js","path":"/blog/active-analysis/","result":{"data":{"mdx":{"body":"function _extends() { _extends = Object.assign || function (target) { for (var i = 1; i < arguments.length; i++) { var source = arguments[i]; for (var key in source) { if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(source, key)) { target[key] = source[key]; } } } return target; }; return _extends.apply(this, arguments); }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutProperties(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded); var key, i; if (Object.getOwnPropertySymbols) { var sourceSymbolKeys = Object.getOwnPropertySymbols(source); for (i = 0; i < sourceSymbolKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceSymbolKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; if (!Object.prototype.propertyIsEnumerable.call(source, key)) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } } return target; }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = {}; var sourceKeys = Object.keys(source); var key, i; for (i = 0; i < sourceKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } return target; }\n\n/* @jsx mdx */\nvar _frontmatter = {\n  \"title\": \"Active Analysis\",\n  \"date\": \"2020-12-02T00:00:00.000Z\",\n  \"tags\": [\"general\"]\n};\n\nvar makeShortcode = function makeShortcode(name) {\n  return function MDXDefaultShortcode(props) {\n    console.warn(\"Component \" + name + \" was not imported, exported, or provided by MDXProvider as global scope\");\n    return mdx(\"div\", props);\n  };\n};\n\nvar layoutProps = {\n  _frontmatter: _frontmatter\n};\nvar MDXLayout = \"wrapper\";\nreturn function MDXContent(_ref) {\n  var components = _ref.components,\n      props = _objectWithoutProperties(_ref, [\"components\"]);\n\n  return mdx(MDXLayout, _extends({}, layoutProps, props, {\n    components: components,\n    mdxType: \"MDXLayout\"\n  }), mdx(\"p\", null, \"I recently watched \", mdx(\"em\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"The Social Dilemma\"), \" and, although it contained information I\\nwas mostly already aware of, it generated new insights I've been struggling to\\narticulate. I've intellectualized those insights by systemizing a process to\\ncombat the deeply engrained habits we've formed around acquiring information. I\\ncall this process \", mdx(\"strong\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"Active Analysis\"), \".\"), mdx(\"blockquote\", null, mdx(\"p\", {\n    parentName: \"blockquote\"\n  }, mdx(\"strong\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"Active Analysis\"), \" is the process by which one proactively seeks out\\ninformation rather than passively ingesting information from an\\nalgorithmically generated source.\")), mdx(\"p\", null, \"In the current Attention Economy, the Facebooks, Instagrams, YouTubes, Twitters,\\nTikToks, and you-name-it social platforms are competing for our attention. Why?\\nBecause our attention drives engagement which, in turn, drives ad revenue and,\\ntherefore, profit. America is a capitalist-driven country where profits triumph\\nover all other priorities. Corporate behemoths are beholden to their\\nshareholders to make money. And if Social Platform A doesn't spend every waking\\nmoment curating its algorithms to garner your attention, then Social Platform B\\nwill. So maybe it doesn't matter if that content is even true so long as it\\nconfirms our bias, opinion, or belief. Because, for every individual bias,\\nopinion, or belief, there is a seemingly credible source of information that\\nwill confirm that bias, opinion, or belief.\"), mdx(\"blockquote\", null, mdx(\"p\", {\n    parentName: \"blockquote\"\n  }, \"For every individual bias, opinion, or belief, there is a seemingly credible\\nsource of information that will confirm that bias, opinion, or belief.\")), mdx(\"p\", null, \"This has led to an epistemological crisis, creating a massive rift in how we\\nview the validity of information \\u2014 that is, how we perceive the objective truth.\\nGone are the days of fact-checking (what are your sources!?) and published\\nretractions from reputable sources. This is the Internet, dammit! \", mdx(\"em\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"Everything\"), \"\\nis true! Walter Cronkite \\u2014 coined \\\"the most trusted man in America\\\" \\u2014 is no\\nlonger \", mdx(\"em\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"the source\"), \" of trusted news. We're no longer operating on the same plane\\nof truth, wielding our own \", mdx(\"em\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"versions\"), \" of the truth as if we\\u2019re living in\\nparallel versions of reality.\"), mdx(\"blockquote\", null, mdx(\"p\", {\n    parentName: \"blockquote\"\n  }, \"You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.\"), mdx(\"cite\", null, \"Daniel Patrick Moynihan\")), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Eventually it hit me: Why not insulate myself from these algorithms and,\\ninstead, seek out the information I want to obtain? I don't need to stay a\\npassive bystander to the degradation of objective and critical thinking. I have\\na choice, and I choose to actively analyze information by seeking out credible\\nsources, contrasting to alternate viewpoints, and extracting digestible parts to\\nimprove my knowledge base.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Here are three tactics I\\u2019ve developed in my \", mdx(\"strong\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"Active Analysis\"), \" strategy:\"), mdx(\"ol\", null, mdx(\"li\", {\n    parentName: \"ol\"\n  }, mdx(\"strong\", {\n    parentName: \"li\"\n  }, \"Actively curate content to build intentional habits.\"), \" This means seeking\\nout answers to questions I pose myself, subscribing to specific newsletters,\\nRSS feeds, and publications that I manually select. I don\\u2019t let the algorithm\\ndictate my viewport, which means I can objectively evaluate the validity of\\neach source.\"), mdx(\"li\", {\n    parentName: \"ol\"\n  }, mdx(\"strong\", {\n    parentName: \"li\"\n  }, \"Filter information through a verification and analysis process.\"), \" I save\\narticles into a database in \", mdx(\"a\", _extends({\n    parentName: \"li\"\n  }, {\n    \"href\": \"https://www.notion.so/\"\n  }), \"Notion\"), \", where I can\\nthen process by reading, tagging, highlighting, and distilling the\\ninformation into another Notion database I use as for collecting and\\nsynthesizing these sources into topics I aim to learn more about.\"), mdx(\"li\", {\n    parentName: \"ol\"\n  }, mdx(\"strong\", {\n    parentName: \"li\"\n  }, \"Dig deeper to uncover alternate viewpoints and contrast them against my own\\nbiases.\"), \" I refuse to fall victim to feeding my own bias and mental models\\nwithout opposition, which deepens empathy and understanding of the overall\\ntopic.\")), mdx(\"blockquote\", null, mdx(\"p\", {\n    parentName: \"blockquote\"\n  }, \"If we do not have the capacity to distinguish what\\u2019s true from what\\u2019s false,\\nthen by definition the marketplace of ideas doesn\\u2019t work. And by definition\\nour democracy doesn\\u2019t work. \", mdx(\"cite\", null, \"Barack Obama\"))));\n}\n;\nMDXContent.isMDXComponent = true;","frontmatter":{"date":"December 02, 2020","title":"Active Analysis","banner":null,"tags":["general"]},"timeToRead":2,"fields":{"slug":"/active-analysis/"}}},"pageContext":{"isCreatedByStatefulCreatePages":false,"slug":"/active-analysis/"}}}