Crucial conversations are moments when (1) opinions vary, (2) stakes are high, and (3) emotions run strong. How to have them, how to recognize when stakes start ramping up and people go into fight-or-flight, how to shift out of that, are all covered.
It starts with oneself and then the important relationships in our lives. Most of us have difficulty with crucial conversations with people we care about and our close relations. If we cannot even share meaning with people close to us, then we have no hope of sharing meaning with strangers.
This is what I have been working on myself. It has been challenging. And though I have not fully mastered it, I see a lot of results and relief.
What would be interesting is reading a discussion by two thought leaders that could happen over email (read: slow medium of communication) and edited to bring out the best of each side. Heat of the moment discussions don't help anyone.
Going to take a look at Crucial Conversations. Thanks!
We have to come at this very directly from the perspective of the outcomes we wish to achieve and those that we wish to avoid ("consequentialism") rather than through some mindless repetition of an ideal that we believe to be sacred ("free-speech is so important"). Free-speech might be important but maintaining peace and achieving good outcomes for all involved should probably be held in higher regard [0] than some abstract principle, particularly when that abstract principle is a shibboleth of the people on one side of an issue but not the other.
[0] I'm talking about people that want to argue about racism and sexism while incidentally subjecting those they're arguing with to the most extreme and potentially toxic people in their group in the name of 'free speech'.
This space is not an external space nor is it acheived through policy or code of conduct. This space is an internal space that is created when two or more people genuinely cares about each other despite having differences in opinion.
It follows that, the best way to create safe spaces is to first practice this with people you already have a relationship with, particularly those you have severe disagreements with.
This is more of a pipe dream than a hope, but I would be ecstatic to see such a world. Like Peter Sunde of Pirate Bay said recently, it looks like we can do only some damage control now. [1]
[1]: https://thenextweb.com/eu/2017/06/09/pirate-bay-founder-weve...
Edit: Added interoperability for the sake of clarity.
- https://venturebeat.com/2017/04/23/companies-of-the-future-n...
edit:spelling
And not just recently; it's been that way for decades. This (alongside the fact that certain other oil states had not done so) was a major contributing factor to the 1990-1991 Gulf War, for instance.
Tech - Fixing Battery/Energy
This is one of the most important breakthrough we absolutely need. Current situation is like of ancient age, where civilisations used to be near/along the water sources like rivers, sea, etc. Same thing is happening today due to our energy dependencies. It limits the geography where a person can dare to live or explore without worrying or sacrificing the safety of communications. there are some ways currently, I agree, but we need more widely adopted solution. Energy consumption should not be co-related to the guilt! :p
There are two things about this: 1) Better energy backup in relatively portable size 2) Quick recharge ( or maybe disrupt the recharge concept:p ?! )
Non-Tech - Understand humans better, physiologically.
If we achieved this, it will be an amazing achievement for our species. Currently, healthcare system works on trial and error method. Most drugs don't really work without any side effects. We haven't understood our own defence mechanisms completely. Maybe using our own killer T-cells to do a targeted strike on aliens in our body will be more useful for our species than hunting aimlessly for aliens in outer space. I don't mean to undermine the importance of ET search efforts and it's implications, but from value proposition point of view, I'll favour human health system. Well, I'm deliberately avoiding to list why health is SO lagging even in 2017, it's better to assume that it's about time to solve health related problems inclusively rather than just keeping it exclusive filed for the health professionals and pharmas.
Disclaimer: No offence to anyone! :)
Social: Non-government reputation systems worth their salt finally enter commerce and sociopolitics to automate supply chain management, RFQ processes, SLAs, incident handling, direct political representation, etc. A revolution in education, international sociopolitical movements bypassing national political systems to address global challenges, increased respect for the environment.
Physical: Reformation of global logistics with distributed manufacturing and laws and the requirement for commercial product part designs to be published with every sale for independent consumer repairs.
Food: At least one city feeds itself largely from automated rooftop farming.
We're already having a hard enough time with crops for coffee, avocados, and more due to high demand and climate change.
Gigabit speeds are typically symmetrical.
It's what I've been dreaming about ever since CRISPR.
The rest of people's lives, and their quality of life, is based on good health.
We may not all end up in the same place, nor even wanting the same things. But good health can help each person achieve their personal maximum.
And, if you don't believe human life is a zero sum game, as I don't, then that increases humanity's overall wealth -- cultural, not just material.
P.S. There is also the opportunity to leverage much greater advances. Putting money towards treatment instead of profit-taking including a significant amount of rent-seeking.
And I, for one, would be much more willing to share my medical data were I assured it would not be used against me, neither in denying me treatment nor in denying me work nor other participation in society. The types of research and advances such data mining might produce, could be both profound and readily at hand.
There's only so much golf, painting, woodworking, and reading people can do.
This is achievable if Bitcoin grows at an annualized rate of 72% for the next ten years.
Extended human life to treat any illness
- 100%, 4G coverage wherever I am in the world.
- Consistent and reliable internet speeds around the world.
Also cryptocurrencies (or at least one) becoming mainstream.
"Idle hands are the devil’s workshop"
Would this work? Isn't it like "everyone above average"? If everyone gets a minimum amount of money, money will be worth less. It would make more sense to guarantee certain resources, or more targeted welfare (e.g. that comes with requirements on how it is spent).
It would change everything more profoundly than steam and oil.
