Dichotomy will be the end of thinking
“Dichotomy will be the end of thinking” — said Dave Snowden, the author of the Cynefin framework and the founder of the Cognitive Edge. This thought made me realize how easily we can get trapped to see the world in black and white. In yes or no. In good or bad.
But only after reading “The art of happiness in the troubled world” by Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler I was able to comprehend the extent to which people in the Western societies are inflicted by the ‘dichotomistic’ way of perceiving the world. If you look around, you will see right away how naturally we dive into such a way of thinking: someone is great or lame, a job is exciting or boring, the life is happy or terrible.
It is particularly visible in politics. I come from a country where today you just have to be PRO or AGAINST. Love’em or hate’em. On this side or that. Seeing actions as if all of them were gold or rubbish. No space to say: — This I don’t agree with but that makes sense. We even got a word for such a non-dichotomistic posture: symmertism. It is seen as a posture of weakness. Indecisiveness. Sometimes even betrial. All must be black and white. No space for other shades.
I personally have very little experience with Eastern cultures but from the book I extrapolated that their way of thinking is more in the shades of grey. As I read the reflections of the Dalai Lama on the state of the world, each time I lived through a little shock to my system on the extent to which my way of thinking can be enriched by letting go of its ‘dichotomistic’ attitude. Only when I allow myself to be sensitive to the palette of explanations of one’s acts, behaviours, attitudes I can truly perceive the richness of narratives that can stem out of it.
Seeing the world in black and white is easier. It is a useful heuristic to deal with the complexity of what surrounds us. But it also makes us stop thinking. Numbs us by not allowing to see alternatives. Prevents us from truly empathizing with others. So, the next time you catch yourself in thinking in ‘yeah’ or ‘nei’ ask yourself this: what if this situation as more grey-ish than that? How could I see it? What would change if I let go of the ‘dichotomistic’ me?
