SXSW 2024 – How to Think Unclearly in Times of Pointless Complexity • B9

One of the most anticipated lectures in SXSW is the keyword for Rohit Bhargavaauthor of several best seller. It's a real journey where you have to start imagining a world that has a lot of things going on that make people isolated, pessimistic, and anxious.

To help, dump a large amount of decisions on these people to make throughout the day. No matter how simple or repetitive an action, you will always be presented with too many options – some of them completely stupid – creating ridiculous noise, adding useless complexity to life. Bury these people with thousands of obviously useless but irresistible information and stories that will only consume time and energy and leave a taste of failure and frustration. amazing, Now no one can pay attention to what really matters.

But don't stop there! Provide so much misinformation that the biggest concern is not how to tell the truth from the lies, but simply getting people to believe something. Now you have created The crisis of nihilism!

As a bonus, imagine that in this scenario people have no meaning or purpose and cannot imagine a better life or job. Because if we actually isolate these people, and only feed them interactions and stories from people like them, guess what? There are too many confirmation biases, too many misunderstandings, and too many mazes that lead to the same dead end. There is a lack of repertoire, a lack of variety to feed an imagination that looks beyond the obvious and sees ways out.

like him AsimovYou are not a fast reader, you are a fast understander. So I'm sure you already understand that Rohit Bhargava It talks about our reality, fueled by clear thinking.

For this reason, unlike every year, 2024 did not come SXSW A set of trends. He brings the process he uses to think in a non-obvious way, hoping to provoke us to move in the same direction.

#1 Create space for new ideas

And that. Stop filling your day with activities, and rush to watch as many lectures or movies as possible. breathes! serious! You cannot have thoughts if you cannot even absorb the information you ingest, if you do not even have time to observe what is happening around you. Create your oasis moments. Moments of connection with others. Moments of contemplation. Moments of imagination and play in creating future scenarios. “If…?“

#2 Find ideas through observation

but Deliberate observation. Direct your attention to topics and stories that are unfamiliar to you. Be interested in the strange, the uncommon, nurture the curiosity that searches for magic in the unexpected. Look for signs that indicate long-term changes. Change your focus and perspective to see the bigger picture.

#3 Don't get lost in the noise: Find coordinated focus

Organizing can be about finding what enhances meaning. But it can also stimulate emotions to improve focus. Or also find that something, that unique perspective. You know that photographer who decided to take pictures of dogs the moment they go to get their favorite snack? genius! How did I not think of that? It's not a new light, a new body, or a fancy camera. And The insight that changes everything.

From all this innovation and this interest Beyond the fact that it can save the world, comes a real interest in people, what moves them, and how they work. And an interest in looking at these things in another, unexpected way.

People who understand people always win. In the end, that's the big message that today's biggest tech festival has to offer you.