I couldn’t help but compare some of what Brooke Gladstone said to Descartes’ process of doubting. You can have beliefs and values, you are who you are, but know them better, she said. This was just what Descartes tried to do by subjecting everything he thought he knew to doubt. What he had a hard time doing was subjecting his deeply engrained beliefs, beliefs he thought he could be certain of, beliefs of which he thought had no business being doubted, to the process of coming to an indubitable truth.
Isn’t that always the hard part, the part that keeps people so divided? People really do hold such things so dear to their hearts and identities. To make room for the potential falsehood of these beliefs is a difficult thing to bare to mind, especially if people are ignorant of their uncertainty. Brooke said know your beliefs. Getting to know why you think what you think is arguably more important than thinking it. This does relate to news consumption in a way that allows people the freedom to experience their point of view. The beauty of this is how widely available differing viewpoints actually are. I think this is what Brooke wants us to do, to devote time to understanding others’ beliefs and values, if only to better understand our own. This means digging deeper, finding the time, being open minded, accepting our own ignorances, accepting other people’s strengths, all to strengthen or emerge from the beliefs we currently have.