Ep 54: Nik Hawks 2

The Nik Hawks Show

-importance of experts, addressing the last show

Email from Mike in Flagstaff:

“I basically agree with everything you say, but want to push back just a little on your comments about experts. I don’t take issue with what you say as far as it goes. But, I do feel the general theme of not needing experts and that a generally competent person can learn what they need to know about any general topic needs a little clarification just because of the current social and political milieu.

We do need experts, and experts do know a lot that one can’t easily teach oneself. You don’t want a self-taught person who spent a few hours researching things on the internet flying your plane, designing the steering and brakes on your car, or removing your appendix. We need experts managing technology, the economy, diplomacy, and government.

The so-called “death of expertise” brought about by wide social trends and leveraged strongly by the internet has led to the anti-vaccine movement, climate change denial, and a general push-back on the concept of truth.

This is not to say that experts can’t be mistaken or do things wrong, and left to themselves they may take things in a non-desirable direction, witness Facebook and the dissemination of fake news. One could argue that an issue with Facebook is that experts in one thing, software engineering, were working in a field in which they were not expert, essentially social engineering, and got into trouble. But when the experts do fuck it up, the people who generally need to fix it are other experts.

Maybe you agree with most of this (or don’t); it just wasn’t said in the podcast and I feel has relevance on a broader scale and to some of the things I have been thinking about, so I'm putting it out there.”

-Using affirmations, how I do it, not specific but general laying out of the state I want to be in the most during the day, setting the default

“I see every obstacle as a gift - as a challenge to be overcome, and in the overcoming to force growth and power that I can use forever again and again. I am willing to see the world in such a way as to always reap the most benefit from it - I choose to perceive my world as an institution dedicated to my excellence. Every challenge, every gift, every human, every animal, plant, physical, mental or emotional I object I encounter is a n opportunity for greatness!”

-What if each day was viewed as your opportunity to be great?

-“Are you light on that wing?” and working hard

-reading Terrence McKenna’s True Hallucinations, what we teach in school: food, body, drugs, sex

-crashing my paraglider: Not doing what you know you need to do, how we learn, one from the luck jar

-crypto tanked, loss, understanding luck, risk, money stress

-joy is cheap: great food, warm showers, time in nature

-the pulse circle & connection with humans