Dr. Junius Johnson on the Relationship between Imagination and Reason, Social Media: Good or Bad?, Bonsai Trees, David Bentley Hart and Sally Vickers, "Strawberry Picking", and John Malkovich
Thanks for these thoughts! I greatly appreciate them and think I agree with you. It's really easy, I think, to take a reflexively pessimistic view about social media, just like it's easy to oppose any sort of innovation merely because it innovates. It's much harder to think about how to use those tools well while mitigating or minimizing the negative effects.
It's certainly true that social media, as it currently exists and is engaged, can bring out the negatives in people. However easy it is to make Silicon Valley or the platforms themselves a scapegoat, the problem lies within ourselves more than the platforms. I think one thing I'd like to see in terms of how we "should" use these platforms is increased reflection on what (a) what good engagement looks like and (b) the discipline to apply that in our particular situations. These both take the cultivation of wisdom so I'm not sure how realistic it is to expect this on a macro-level, but it does place the impetus on the individual participant.
I love this kind of newsletter keep it up!
The Malkovich portraits are hilarious and amazing!
Thanks for these thoughts! I greatly appreciate them and think I agree with you. It's really easy, I think, to take a reflexively pessimistic view about social media, just like it's easy to oppose any sort of innovation merely because it innovates. It's much harder to think about how to use those tools well while mitigating or minimizing the negative effects.
It's certainly true that social media, as it currently exists and is engaged, can bring out the negatives in people. However easy it is to make Silicon Valley or the platforms themselves a scapegoat, the problem lies within ourselves more than the platforms. I think one thing I'd like to see in terms of how we "should" use these platforms is increased reflection on what (a) what good engagement looks like and (b) the discipline to apply that in our particular situations. These both take the cultivation of wisdom so I'm not sure how realistic it is to expect this on a macro-level, but it does place the impetus on the individual participant.
I think the article on the bonsai trees was the most fun discovery and read!
Glad you enjoyed it! What is your favorite piece in it?