Hello, I am a data analyst in India and am trying to learn ways to communicate better. I’ve always been very curious about the world, but I constantly struggle communicating what I learn to friends and family. I have a friend who recently moved to California and we’ve both been inspired by this community’s way of thinking about the world.
One communication difficulty that keeps coming up is that different people have different associations with words. When communicating, some might feel successful until unpacking the words used reveals differences in understanding. I aspire to overcome this transparency illusion, but I’m not yet there.
I really like the distinction between epistemic rationality and instrumental rationality. I feel like my family exclusively focuses on instrumental rationality. But my interests are mostly in improving my epistemic rationality. I’m curious about the world and want to improve my understanding of it. But whenever I bring it up, they refer to Hindu texts. I’m deeply appreciative of having grown up in Hindu and Buddhist traditions, but I also want to explore everything else that is out there.
I’m frequently finding myself in a struggle communicating the value of improving my epistemic rationality to people who are just trying to win...