As long as customers are human (agents anyone?)
| Aspect | Psychological Speciation | Political Speciation |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Formation of distinct psychological groups that process information and reason differently | Development of separate political identities and ideologies that become increasingly incompatible |
| Primary Mechanisms | Geographic barriers, different cultural environments, varying cognitive development, educational differences | Geographic sorting, media echo chambers, racial/ethnic segregation, partisan state control |
| Gene Flow Barriers | Physical distance, social isolation, language differences, cultural barriers | Social media algorithms, partisan media consumption, geographic self-sorting, single-party state control |
| Evidence | Different responses to same questions, varying approaches to problem-solving, incompatible reasoning processes | Divergent policy positions, different voting patterns, contrasting moral frameworks, opposing legislative agendas |
| Examples | Differences in base rate consideration, varying approaches to statistical reasoning, distinct cognitive biases | Abortion rights views, gun control positions, Supreme Court nominations, state legislation patterns |
| Impacts | Communication difficulties, mutual incomprehension, different decision-making processes | Legislative gridlock, policy polarization, electoral division, federal-state tensions |
| Solutions | Increased interaction, diverse educational approaches, cross-cultural exchange | Ranked choice voting, proportional representation, multi-party system, cross-partisan dialogue |
| Measurement | Edit distance in Turing encodings, behavioral experiments, cognitive testing | Voting patterns, policy positions, legislative analysis, public opinion polls |
| Historical Development | Gradual development through cultural evolution and educational systems | Accelerated since 1970s through media fragmentation and party realignment |
| Reversibility | Possible through increased interaction and exposure to diverse thinking patterns | Possible through electoral reform and increased cross-party exchange |
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=459414553371829
Thanks to Elissa Bowes-Arbeitman I found a video of my awesome "Draw Together Strangers" experience at The Aspen Institute's health festival in June.
👨🎨 DrawTogether Strangers is a clever, fun and incredibly liberating experience.
Brought by Wendy MacNaughton (link), it makes you look a stranger in the eyes for 1 minute while drawing their portrait without ever lifting pen from paper or looking at your drawing. What is so liberating, you say, from all these constraints? Well, for starters, you are not expected to produce a piece of art (although it does end up looking like a Picasso esquisse) or a high-fidelity portrait (well, I hope my triple chin is not as prominent as my 'portrait' suggests, thank you stranger Maxine! 👩🎨 ). For someone who can't draw, that is definitely freeing. But the drawing is not the main draw (see what I did?), it is not even the point. Quoting Wendy:
"We live in a fractured world, endlessly divided by class, race, gender, sexuality, politics, religion and on and on... One of the saddest consequences of this? Frustrated, fearful, sometimes just lost in our own worlds, we look away. We don’t see each other anymore.
Luckily there exists a sophisticated tool to help us pay attention and connect with people we might otherwise avoid or ignore. It’s called a pen. A simple drawing exercise can rewire our brains into SEEING one another again. All it takes is 60 seconds, some paper and pens, and two strangers."
And on top of that, I found that I am a pretty decent artist when I don't look at what I am doing.