[Vol. 1 Issue #133]
Today's big story is all about Collective Illusions and public perceptions on a mass scale. The story is based on a YouTube video that is worth the watch and will make you think about the way you think. Today's big story dominates, but we saved room for angry birds in Nebraska, snacking at night, and how to listen (to music) better in 2023. Rock On!
Bigmouth Strikes Again:
Stories | News | Music | Art & Design - With A Shout (out)
Big Stories
Group Think
In the News Highlights and Analysis business, the algorithms can take you to many "pot of gold" info spots. Today's Big Story is one of those. The YouTube channel for Big Thinks introduced us to Psychologist Todd Rose, who works at the think tank called Populace studies Collective Illusions. One way to determine what a population thinks is to use a Private Opinion Method; you ask the group two questions: 1. "what do you think?" and 2. "what do you think most people think?" The two questions, when asked together, help to determine the collective illusion of the group.
Mass Scale
Today it is easier to spread a collective illusion, and a challenge with the spread is if the collective illusion stays around for a generation, the next generation will treat it as the norm. Rose walks through 8 Myths about life based on Collective Illusions in the video. Here are a few highlights:
On Success
Fame is in last place - #76 (out of 76) when you ask a person what is most important to them.
Fame is first place - #1 (out of 76) when people are asked what they think other people want.
On Education
When asked what they want from education, most people want to be able to get a good job.
When asked what others want, they want prestige (similar to fame).
On Aspirations (Illusion of division)
When people are asked about personal aspirations – 8 out of 10 are prioritized similarly.
The population is on the same page, but the things that divide us are so loud, overwhelming, and polarizing we get lost in the noise.
On Social Media
80% of all social media content is produced by 10% of the people on social media. (ask yourself, have you ever commented online?)
Our thoughts: We should get offline more - instead, push ourselves to get on-life more. The more time you spend "On-Life," the less time you spend "Online ."Less Social Media, More Social Life.
Big People
Heavy Breathing
Hunger Games
Dr. Peter Attia has a newsletter and podcast where he deeply studies longevity-related topics. He wrote a piece this month called To reduce appetite, skip late-night snacks. The report could have started with Dear Johnny… In the article, two different studies were conducted and found that eating later at night reduces weight loss vs. a group that began eating earlier in the day, with the last meal around 6:00 PM. Two possible reasons for slowing weight loss include; increasing appetite in the later evening and reduced energy expenditures. Attia tends to lean toward reducing energy over increasing appetite. He's never seen what I can do with a jar of peanut butter after 10:00 PM…
Habits
Add to the scientific studies when the snack attacks tend to hit you. If you suffer from boredom eating, night snacking makes sense. Especially if you have a busy life during the day, you need to think about snacks more often and have the stuff to do. When the long days are done, and you finally put your feet up, your mouth comes down, and the reduced energy begins.
Big Things
Stranger Things
Angry Red Bird
Did you know that there are angry birds in Nebraska? We didn't; it turns out Scott Taylor took several pictures of a northern cardinal flying in the backyard of his parent's house. Taylor was trying out a new camera his wife purchased for him, and the shots look fake when you first see them. The story is on My Modern Met, and it is one of those see it to believe it, pictures.
Big Sounds
Sound Checks
Listen Hard
NME has a few new years resolutions of its own, and one of them might benefit you if you love music. They have created a list of suggestions to change your music listening habits. For some of us who used to go to great lengths making mix tapes, mixed CDs, mp3s, and finally, the playlist, we don't know what to do with all that free time! Everything is on demand, and you only have to ask Siri or Alexa to find and play fill-in-the-blank. Ease of use can breed patterns, like 20-year-old tee shirts that may need to be discarded.
Shake It Up
The NME article has a ton of great lists to look at; 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, a year-by-year option, or by genre; the possibilities are almost overwhelming. That doesn't mean trying one out won't expand your music horizons. Another suggestion made in the article we support is live music. Go out and see a show!
[Music Notes]
Reconstruction Time Again
A little bit of this…
Depeche Mode and Blur are heading out on tour in 2023.
New Order coming to SXSW in 2023.
Moby is making mov[ies].
Thoughts on Music
Shaken, not stirred.
Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.
Words from Gen X
Thank you for spending a few minutes with us. Here’s one for the road!
Don’t Tell A Soul
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With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.
O/X