Do the Opposite - Principle of Lesser Evil, Worst Sales Promotion, Going Paperless
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The Principle of Lesser Evil
If you ever were ridiculed or asked "What's the point?" when you tried to do something good for others, for the environment, for the animals, or any other worthy cause, I have an unbreakable line of logic to share with you - something that will allow you to make your case calmly, authoritatively, with nobody being able to argue back.
I've adopted this argument when I was questioned by various people about being vegetarian, and at another time, vegan (full disclosure, at this time I eat seafood/fish but not poultry/meat). When you are trying to do something good, there are only a few reactions you will get from people: some of them will not care but will not bother you; some others will support you; some will start questioning and yet others will try to find a "chink in your armour" to prove their own superiority to themselves and be safe in their world.
The principle of lesser evil is the answer. "Oh, if you are into meditation, why do you get angry sometimes?", or "You claim to care about the environment and do your recycling, but you still use a car and fly on the plane twice a year? Hypocrite much?", or "You've just given this homeless person $5, why don't you help him more?", "Oh, you read all these books on self-improvement, but I don't see much changes in you over the years" and such statements are putting you in an impossible expectation. The expectation is that you must be either %100 in, or fully out, and there is no in-between.
That devalues any effort you're putting in and demoralizes you, trying to guilt you into not doing anything. Meanwhile, it doesn't make sense for you to give away all your possessions, or become so vegan you can't ride the bus since the tires are made using some animal product derivatives. So what are you to do?
Let's say you recycle, but you still use plastic bags sometimes. You should say: "I am doing the best I can at this moment. If I could do more, I would, and maybe in the future I will. For now, my contribution reduces my carbon footprint a bit, and that matters." Same for a situation when you don't eat red meat but eat everything else. You are doing your part and with time you might do more. What matters is your actions "lesser the evil" humanity has on the world in this example.
An often used line is "So you don't eat meat, so what? Meat production won't stop because you stopped eating it." However, that logic is very flawed. It is exactly this kind of behaviour change that forces the world to change in its turn. The demand of meat is not produced by humanity as a big whole, it's all comprised of individual and their choices. The more people make that change, the more the supply/demand adjustments continue. Thus, individual contribution is not nothing, but rather it's the most important act and a force for change in the world. Nothing really changes at once, it changes person by person.
Same applies to all other good deeds and positive changes you implement. Your healthy lunch at work. Your gym session on a Monday night. A decision to walk or bike to work instead of taking the car. Sharing your story online. Taking that course. Refurbishing a broken laptop instead of buying a new one. Going to sleep 1 hour early tonight. Saying hello to your neighbour.
It's kind of like "the Butterfly Effect" - even the tiniest changes we make can eventually snowball into huge differences in the future.
Articles:
1) "To Come Up with a Good Idea, Start by Imagining the Worst Idea Possible" by Ayse Birsel
Well, we can't get more "Do the Opposite" than the title of this article :) What I liked about it is that it provides concrete examples of when people used the "start from the reverse assumption" method to find that a previously "unsolvable" problem is now manageable. The more experienced we get, the more we are at risk of starting to "tunnel vision", when trying to predict the future, solve our problems and more. Sometimes it is better to step out of our opinions and beliefs, and reconsider the problem/situation from a point of view of the person who has no preconceived notions about the subject matter. Like a child. Like a beginner.
2) "Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued" by Patrick McKenzie
This article was shared with me by my mentor, and I often come back to reread it. If you work in tech or in an adjacent profession/industry, you will get the most out of it. If you don't, you will still be able to gather a bunch of helpful, practical pieces of advice, which will help you immensely the next time you hunt for a new job.
3) "The Worst Sales Promotion in History: Hoover's Free Flight Fiasco" by Zachary Crockett
This is a hilarious article that shares the story of a sales promotion gone terribly wrong. The idea that Hoover (a company that makes vaccuum cleaners, among other things) had for the campaign was to catch people's attention to the brand by promising that if a customer buys their product worth $100 or more, they would receive free tickets for 2 international flights. The math, of course, didn't work out - not even close. The people at Hoover had made the process of obtaining the free tickets very complicated and hoped that that will reduce the claims to a trickle, which will be manageable. Another false hope Hoover had was that customers would buy items for way more than $100, to offset the costs. That did not happen. :) This just goes to show us how often we fail to predict other people's behaviour.
Video:
"How I'm a Paperless Student in College!" by Lottie Smalley
I'm very happy to share this video, where Lottie talks about her experiences as a "paperless" student. I think this is definitely the way to go in the future, with the planet population booming and modern technology rising.
Of course, you can't go 100% paperless because, like Lottie mentions, some professors/teachers will continue printing off handouts and sometimes require paper, but what matters is not doing it perfectly, but doing your best. (this ties in with the Principle of Lesser Evil I've talked about above). It warms my heart to see people who care about things like this. On top of the environmental concerns, going paperless is also more convenient! Watch the video to learn more and for some practical advice Lottie shares on how exactly one can go about going paperless.
Tech Corner:
Disclaimer: This section is related to tech and coding. If you are interested in learning to code, but not sure ― shoot me a direct message on Twitter (@ka11away) or just reply to this email, and I will do my best to help you out!
"Linux Commands For Beginners ― Video Series" by Jeremy “Jay” LaCroix
I often watch Jay's channel for his reviews of Linux laptops and overview of different distros (which are very informative), but this week I've found out that he has this cool collection of videos on the Linux commands (many of which will be the same if you are running macOS). if you want to improve your command line skills, these are a great resource!
Also, I must mention this amazing resource for learning the command line by Michael Hartl, another gem. Even if you have some terminal skills already, reading and following this guide will fill in the gaps and improve your CLI-fu :)
Tweet that resonated with me:
Bonus tweet :)
Ethos:
Quotes:
"The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind."
― Maya Angelou
"Many painters are afraid of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the painter who dares and who has broken the spell of 'you can't' once and for all."
― Vincent van Gogh
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Keep doing the opposite,
Alexander Kallaway
Website: dotheoppo.site
Twitter: twitter.com/ka11away