Avenues for having well-founded opinions

Here's a way for having better informed opinions about things rather than just the "they-say" of everyday chatter (mediatised or not) without having to spend hours, days, weeks, months, years collecting diplomas and becoming an "expert" (who often are not that well-informed themselves, just maybe a little better than "us") :


These are heavily abridged, bare-bone versions of speakers at the RSA (the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufacture & Commerce) They are usually between three and six minutes long and have collapsed the essential information on the topic into a rapid-delivery/rapid-reception mode.

These can be put on for passive-listening - say, while one is doing some task (laundry hanging/folding, the washing-up &c.). When one hears something that really stands out (it is hard to imaging not hearing a few things that really stand out !), note down the speaker, and then, make the time to listen to the entire, unabridged talk. If the talk is stimulating, then look for that speaker on other video channels (the same speakers often also give talks at Google, at TED, at other institutions including some universities and other academic associations). Watch those too. They often say some of the very same things, but that is fine. If people are repeating things, then that serves as an anchor for that idea - as it has done for centuries with religious sermons.

If one finds particular speakers really appealing, then read their books. So, you see, being well-informed in our era is easier than it was in the 18^th Century when we only had the RSA, the books and neighbourhood coffee-houses in which to discuss, debate and duel over the ideas therein.

Of course, not all of it is going to speak to us. Relative influence/importance is nearly always contextual. But there too, one may be surprised to discover how entangled seemingly-separate contexts can become.

Here is just a sample (again) of the sorts of opinion-informing material that is available to us (and everyone else) :

Alexandre Orion wrote: If one finds particular speakers really appealing, then read their books. So, you see, being well-informed in our era is easier than it was in the 18^th Century when we only had the RSA, the books and neighbourhood coffee-houses in which to discuss, debate and duel over the ideas therein.

Here is just a sample (again) of the sorts of opinion-informing material that is available to us (and everyone else) :

This is the one of the most important things I try to teach students. I assign a paper on anything they want to learn in history. I get a lot of the history of drug prohibition ect. (that doesn't bother me) but what kills me is when selective quoting is done. If we don't read on what a speaker is as a person how can we gain context? Read, Read, Read!

Thank you for this Master Orion!

Much Love, Respect and Peace,
Kobos