Asking Why.
Note: For some time, I have been putting my thoughts into writing. They have been on various topics and very much a work in progress. I would love to hear your thoughts, whether that be in comments or a conversation in person. This is the first topic of many.
Throughout almost every encounter with anyone I speak to, I end up asking why they do what they do. Many times the response would be “It’s how it’s always been done” or “It’s what I was taught”. I argue that this is terrible way about going about things. Without knowing why something is being done, you won’t know how to improve upon it.
It is no wonder that the “5 Whys” is a technique used to solve underlying problems. The common “It’s how it’s always been done” mindset tends to lead to solutions that patch temporary problems or a problem resulting from a deeper issue; this leads to inefficiencies in the future. The fact we need to remind ourselves through this problem-solving technique can include two reasons: 1. We tend to forget to think deep enough while in the moment 2. We don’t know how to properly think things out or not something we learn in grade school.
Maybe we stopped asking “Why?” after adults gave up responding to repetitive why’s when we were children. It may halt our curiosity for why things are the way they are. But the critical consequence may be that we tend accept things the way they are.
Maybe instead of being annoyed of children asking questions and giving up on answering their questions, we should teach them how to research the topics themselves and develop the love for learning and building curiosity for things in life. It is curious that one of the most anxiety dreams in American adults relate to school. There is almost a societal made fear of education and learning.
“Be extraordinary curious and don’t assume the status quo is unchangeable” -Eric Schmidt
Understanding and remembering why we do certain things is critical in achieving our goals. Without intent, there is no reason to do those things. Without meaning, why do those things? Where is the satisfaction?
One of the obvious instances of recent time is the Senate hearings for President Trump’s cabinet nominations. Rather than judge an individual’s qualification for the position, it has become a bashing or praiseful event depending on the party speaking. The party lines have been drawn and no one is listening to the questioning to make an informed decision; the decision on how they will vote have already been pre-determined.
More recently, the Senate passed that only a simple majority is needed to confirm a nominee for the SCOTUS, instead of a supermajority of 60. This will greatly affect the dynamics of the SCOTUS and will allow more partisanship in the future. Maybe of those who saw this rule change as a detriment to the foundation of our democracy still voted for it. Of course, this will allowed Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed quickly. But at what cost? This change may be a patch for the issue of being able to confirm the GOP Supreme Court Justice nominee, but it will have lasting effects on the balance of government.
There will be significant aspects of life in which we will have to ask ourselves why we do certain things. Some examples:
Social Networks
Society will come to the realization that social networking as it exists now is very unproductive and does a poor job in facilitating communication between diverse types of people (e.g. showing people content that support their views).
Traffic Tickets
With autonomous vehicles, they will be no longer a need for traffic tickets. We will have to find other methods of revenue for law enforcement (though there may also be a reduction in the amount of enforcement needed)
Jobs
The 40 hour work week started in 1914 when Ford reduced it from 48 hours. Productivity will be measured differently in the future and has already begun transitioning. We are not measure on the physical goods that we produce but the value. The definition of value is going to change with time, particularly with the rise of automation.
With automation on the rise and resources becoming more abundant, we will need to find satisfaction and purpose from other besides the jobs we have become used to. With the dynamics of the economy changing, the ability to find meaning in life will expand beyond our current definition. The existence of universal basic income will allow anyone to pursue their interests; this differs from any other time in history (i.e. people have the freedom to fail).
The Japanese have a concept called Kaizen. It is a Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc. I believe that this concept of constant growth is important and asking “Why?” is crucial in practicing Kaizen.