How the modern world is changing our thinking. Global problems of humanity and ways to solve them High-tech: TVs without frames

QUOTE #1

“We have reached a situation of internal stability, confidence that the country will continue to develop in a stable way. This is probably the most important thing. The economy has changed dramatically,” - Vladimir Putin said on December 19, 2019.

What is the stability that the president talks about?
Our economic growth rates, according to the most optimistic estimates that Rosstat constantly presents to us, are about 1%. All economists know that these are conventions. The structure of production and the structure of exports are steadily deteriorating. Raw material exports are growing, while modern production is shrinking. At the same time, foreign direct investment in the Russian economy is falling. In 2015-2018, they more than halved. And most of them (60%) are directed to the mining sector.

Therefore, something else is unconditional: the lack of economic growth and a noticeable drop in living standards over the past five years. This despite the fact that, according to World Bank calculations, Russians are four times poorer Here's how this metric is calculated. The per capita wealth of the average Russian includes an estimate of:
- human capital (earnings throughout a person’s life);
- natural resources(renewable and non-renewable); produced capital (mainly buildings and structures, equipment);
- foreign assets (foreign property and liabilities of the country).
Human capital occupies the largest share of wealth (in the Russian Federation - 46%, in OECD countries - 70%), natural capital - another 20%, produced capital accounts for 33%, and foreign assets - the remaining 1%. Over the period from 2000 to 2017, the volume of Russia's total wealth in constant 2017 prices increased by 73% - from 753 trillion to 1306 trillion rubles. The per capita figure over the same period increased, according to World Bank estimates, by 76%, to 8.9 million rubles. ($152.5 thousand). However, this amount is only a quarter of the wealth of a typical resident developed countries-members of the OECD (includes 36 developed countries). Stagnation of real incomes and falling oil prices significantly slowed down the growth of this indicator. residents of 36 developed countries (OECD members). To catch up with developed countries in terms of human capital, according to World Bank calculations, Russia will need a hundred years. This is such stability.

In general, the share of the economically vulnerable population, that is, the share of people who live hard and poorly, is not at all the same as official statistics show us. Official statistics tells us that this proportion is approximately 12-13%. But if you calculate by purchasing power, it turns out that 28% of the Russian population in 2018 lived on about 700 rubles a day. Moreover, both the level and inflation of tariffs in housing and communal services and prices for food products are quite noticeable.

The Minister of Economy said that the first half of 2020 “is already lost for Russia in economic sense" According to the minister, the economy will face very weak consumer demand at the beginning of next year. And weak consumer demand means that poverty is expanding and people's incomes are falling.
The problem of consumer demand in our economy is not new. It has been around for at least twelve years. And we proposed a radical solution to this problem. This is a famous program"Earth-Houses-Roads" . Free transfer of land to citizens for the construction of individual housing, together with state-built infrastructure, would create the very necessary demand that determines the pace of economic development of the entire country. All European countries emerged from the post-war crisis in exactly this way. But in Russia it only ended in an unsuccessful experiment in the Far East.

Now it's unfolding before our eyesanother story , which economists will definitely be talking about for decades. This is the construction of a gas pipeline to China several hundred kilometers from Tomsk, where only 8% of residents have access to natural gas. Everyone else uses wood and coal.
In general, 65% of Russian residents do not have access to gas supply. Even 15% of Gazprom's revenues would be enough to solve this problem in favor of Russian citizens. But instead, with our own money, we are building a gas pipeline to China, which the Chinese only need in case of war in the Sea of ​​Japan. It is no coincidence that the Power of Siberia project is surrounded by secrets, the main one of which remains the price of gas supplied to China. The media claim that the level of secrecy of the Chinese gas contract is comparable to questions strategic weapons: Only a few people in Russia know the true figure and the formula for calculating it according to the agreement. And again, the program proposed by Yabloko"Gas to every home" remains a pipe dream.

QUOTE #2

“As for the withdrawal of foreign troops, there are no foreign troops there. There are local police, local self-defense forces, - Putin assured, answering a question about the situation in Donbass. -Where do they get tanks and heavy artillery? Listen, in many “hot spots” of the world there are various kinds of conflicts and fighting, and with the use of tanks, artillery and so on. Where do they get it from? Apparently, from those structures and states that sympathize with them.”

What can I say? Such views and “sympathies” of the president are seriously dangerous for our country.
Russia needs a completely different policy and different sympathies. Russia needs peace, not war. We need a state of public benefit, not private interests. We need a principle of human conservation that would regulate the relationship between freedom and responsibility. AND government, which must stop treating people as nuisances. Internationally recognized borders are vital for Russia, which do not exist now and without which our country cannot exist in the modern world. Russia cannot afford a policy of hybrid and other proxy wars in very dubious interests on completely foreign territories.
Russia needs peaceful, developing neighbors: Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia - who would have every reason to be friends with Russia and not fear it. The success of our neighbors in developing their state institutions and in the economy - these are our successes. We need a belt of stability and prosperity around our country, and not the other way around.
We need - and this is the most important thing - trust in the country: trust within the country, trust of citizens with each other and between citizens and the authorities. This is exactly what you can’t build without. modern society And modern economy. And this is exactly what the existing political regime cannot provide under any circumstances. The modern global economy is based largely on trust and understanding. And where this is not the case, crises and recessions occur. Today's political system does not allow creating an atmosphere of trust in the country, neither from citizens to the police, nor from citizens to the courts, nor from citizens to the state, nor to each other, nor in business - in nothing. This is a dead end of the system.

We need a state of public interest, that is, a state that works for everyone. Just as we need a policy of peace and trust with our neighbors. But instead we are immersed in a political culture of primitive authoritarianism. This political culture must be pushed aside and replaced by a completely different one. Russia vitally needs freedom. Because freedom is life without fear. Because all citizens of Russia have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and poverty and freedom from fear. When these four freedoms are realized, then it will be a Russia of people, and not a country of officials, gangs and thieves.

Problems that concern not any particular continent or state, but the entire planet, are called global. As civilization develops, it accumulates more and more of them. Today there are eight main problems. Let's consider the global problems of humanity and ways to solve them.

Ecological problem

Today it is considered the main one. For a long time, people have used the resources given to them by nature irrationally, polluted the environment around them, and poisoned the Earth with a variety of waste - from solid to radioactive. The result was not long in coming - according to most competent researchers, ecological problems in the next hundred years will lead to irreversible consequences for the planet, and therefore for humanity.

There are already countries where this issue has reached a very high level. high level, giving rise to the concept of an ecological crisis area. But a threat looms over the whole world: the ozone layer, which protects the planet from radiation, is being destroyed, the earth’s climate is changing - and humans are unable to control these changes.

Even the most developed country cannot solve the problem alone, so states unite to jointly solve important environmental problems. The main solution is considered to be reasonable use of natural resources and reorganization of everyday life and industrial production so that the ecosystem develops naturally.

Rice. 1. The threatening scale of the environmental problem.

Demographic problem

In the 20th century, when the world's population exceeded six billion, everyone had heard of it. However, in the 21st century the vector has shifted. In short, the essence of the problem now is this: there are fewer and fewer people. A competent policy of family planning and improving the living conditions of each individual will help solve this issue.

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Food problem

This problem is closely related to the demographic one and consists in the fact that more than half of humanity is experiencing acute food shortages. To solve it, we need to more rationally use available resources for food production. Experts see two development paths: intensive, when the biological productivity of existing fields and other lands increases, and extensive, when their number increases.

All global problems of humanity must be solved together, and this is no exception. The food problem arose due to the fact that most of people live in unsuitable areas. Joining the efforts of scientists from different countries will significantly speed up the solution process.

Energy and raw materials problem

The uncontrolled use of raw materials has led to the depletion of mineral reserves that have been accumulating for hundreds of millions of years. Very soon, fuel and other resources may disappear altogether, so scientific and technological progress is being introduced at all stages of production.

The problem of peace and disarmament

Some scientists believe that in the very near future it may happen that there will be no need to look for possible ways to solve humanity’s global problems: people are producing such an amount of offensive weapons (including nuclear weapons) that at some point they can destroy themselves. To prevent this from happening, world treaties on arms reduction and demilitarization of economies are being developed.

Human health problem

Humanity continues to suffer from deadly diseases. The progress of science is great, but diseases that cannot be cured still exist. The only solution is to continue Scientific research in search of medicine.

The problem of using the World Ocean

The depletion of land resources has led to increased interest in the World Ocean - all countries that have access to it use it not only as biological resource. Both the mining and chemical sectors are actively developing. Which gives rise to two problems at once: pollution and uneven development. But how are these issues resolved? Currently, they are being studied by scientists from all over the world, who are developing principles of rational ocean environmental management.

Rice. 2. Industrial station in the ocean.

The problem of space exploration

To explore outer space, it is important to join forces on a global scale. Latest Research– the result of consolidation of the work of many countries. This is precisely the basis for solving the problem.

Scientists have already developed a model of the first station for settlers on the Moon, and Elon Musk says that the day is not far off when people will go to explore Mars.

Rice. 3. Layout of the lunar base.

What have we learned?

Humanity has many global problems that can ultimately lead to its death. These problems can only be solved if efforts are consolidated - otherwise the efforts of one or several countries will be reduced to zero. Thus civilizational development and solutions to problems of a universal scale are possible only if the survival of man as a species becomes higher than economic and state interests.

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To collate the findings for Homo Sapiens communities, Dunbar returned to anthropology. The researcher found that the number of people in rural traditional settlements fluctuates within the limits he assumed - up to two hundred people. In his work, the scientist suggested that the number of neurocortical neurons is electrically excitable brain cells that process, store and transmit information using electrical and chemical signals- limits the body's ability to process information, which in turn limits the number of relationships a person can simultaneously maintain. When the group size exceeds this number, it becomes difficult for the individual to maintain the number of contacts.

Modern communication looks like this

And indeed, if you ask representatives of the older generation how they met and learned any news, they will answer that they met on holidays with friends, went for walks together, said goodbye to each other, meaning the next meeting, and when the hostess I wanted to cook an unusual dish, so I asked my friends for the recipe. And the number of these acquaintances on average did not exceed 150 people. All of the above examples suggest that in the past people interacted with each other much more often. They had to personally communicate both with a familiar circle of people and meet new people, which, undoubtedly, perfectly developed their social skills. It is possible that it was this experience of our parents and grandmothers that affected the mutual understanding of generations - today young people increasingly communicate online, and this applies to both friendships and love relationships.

Today, the ability to obtain all the necessary information at any time by simply googling it has significantly reduced the need for live communication between people. Why call your friends or meet with a friend who has the information you need when there is the Internet? Gradually, this led to people communicating less in person and more online. So, modern teenagers harder to meet strangers and generally become more socialized than representatives of previous generations.

Dopamine networks and true friends

Social networks and the profiles that we create on them play a huge role in the modern world. Some psychologists call pages in in social networks creating an improved version of oneself, since every person strives to make a good impression on others and often provides false information about himself. It turns out that communication itself has changed today, it has become more superficial. A certain disunity of interests also appeared - if in the past the whole country watched “The meeting place cannot be changed” and common topics could be found for conversation with almost everyone, today the picture is completely different. The advent of the Internet and such streaming services as, on the one hand, gave us imaginary freedom of choice, and on the other hand, made the opportunity to meet a person with similar interests in real life more difficult.

Instagram has begun testing “no likes” in some regions of the United States. According to the company's new policy, likes will only be available to the author of publications, and not to his subscribers

Moreover, based on Dunbar's work, it can be falsely concluded that the number of people on social networks should not exceed 150 people. But in fact we add as friends a large number of people, half of whom we have never met or will not see at all. The numbers in the friends tab today are a source of dopamine, but not real happiness.

According to a recent study, a person is only able to maintain five truly close contacts throughout his life. This is why the top five people are highlighted separately on your social media feed. But with the rest of the conditional 145 friends, communication is a little strange - about once a year or six months we congratulate each other with messages, for example, “happy birthday,” as if letting the other person know that we remember his existence. But such “zombing” on social networks cannot be called full-fledged communication. It turns out that our ancestors communicated with each other much more, more often and more productively than we do, and this communication was often a key factor in their well-being in life.

Zombing is a like or a happy holiday greeting from a person with whom you do not communicate, both online and in real life.

I would like to note that the Internet and the information age have not only enriched the Russian language with the latest borrowings, but also changed etiquette. Thus, in the modern world, the ability to put down your smartphone in time and not take too many photographs in the presence of others is highly valued.

Black Mirror is no longer a TV series

Fans of social science fiction have probably watched at least one episode of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror. The first episode of the third season talked about how likes on social networks affect social status and determine the position in . And if the relationships between people in the world shown in this episode look like an exaggeration, then the reality has actually not gone so far - a taxi driver today can actually lose his job if a client gives him only one star out of five a couple of times. And the way almost all interactions between people take place in modern China seems to make you think: “Isn’t this the world of “black mirror””?

Still from the series “Black Mirror” (season 3, episode 1)

Of course, the advent of the Internet and modern technologies changed more than just friendships and relationships. Today, the Internet influences almost every aspect of our lifestyle - from basic needs to the most luxurious things. And as we step into the future, it is logical to assume that dependence on the Internet and its role in our lives will only increase. The modern world is blurring boundaries, resembling a global city that exists thanks to the Internet. After all, despite the fact that communication today is increasingly superficial, we can now communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere. has become a kind of guide to all information and queries about beauty, health, fashion, lifestyle, personal hygiene and much more. Moreover, we can not only work from the comfort of home, but also receive education while sitting in the comfort of our own chair. The Internet has become a huge platform for the free exchange of knowledge. Yes, we see each other’s faces less often, but we have Wikipedia.

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Concluding this article, I cannot help but note that along with the endless opportunities that have appeared thanks to the Internet, there are no less reasons for concern. Our society is rapidly transforming and the “okay boomer” meme, which recently swept the world’s social networks, is a clear example of this. The Baby Boomers - people born between 1943 and 1963 - don't really understand Millennials, much less Gen Z. The fact is that social environment The environment in which boomers grew up was completely different from the environment that surrounds modern children and adolescents - and they, among other things, are surrounded by the screens of smartphones, tablets, televisions and limitless flows of information.

The cast of the series “Friends” is almost complete. The inscription at the top is “Boomers”

Changes affect worldviews and even jokes. What was considered funny 20 years ago and what they joked about in the series “Friends” today causes indignation among young people. The values ​​that the boomer generation conveyed are becoming outdated at an incredible speed, which only fuels the misunderstanding between people. But I see the inability, and sometimes even reluctance, of network users as no less dangerous. It's no secret that pseudoscientific and dangerous ideas, for example, about the dangers of vaccination, are spreading with incredible speed and success in Russia.

No matter how our society changes with the development of technology and the advent of the Internet, we still remain people with our inherent thinking errors, the need for communication and intimacy with others. Perhaps the best thing each of us can do today is to stop for a minute and think about what direction and where we are going.

« Global problems» (from Latin globus terrae - Earth, the term itself appeared in the late 1960s) - a set of problems of humanity that faced it in the second half of the 20th century and on the solution of which the further existence of civilization depends.

Common features:

scale: affect all humanity;

suggest the international cooperation different countries (impossible to solve in one single country);

pungency: depends on their decision further fate civilization;

appear as an objective factor in the development of society;

urgently demand solutions.

Main (priority) global problems:

The problem of war and peace, preventing a new world war.

Demographic.

Raw materials.

Ecological.

The “north-south” problem (overcoming the backwardness of developing countries and reducing the gap in the level of development between them and advanced post-industrial countries).

6. Food.

7. Energy.

8. Use of the World Ocean.

9. World space exploration.

And so on.

All global problems are interconnected. It is impossible to solve each of them separately: humanity must solve them together in order to preserve life on the planet.

Main directions for resolving global problems:

Formation of a new planetary consciousness. Raising a person on principles humanism. Widely informing people about global issues.

A comprehensive study of the causes and contradictions, conditions leading to the emergence and aggravation of problems.

Observation and control of global processes on the planet. Obtaining objective information from each country and international research is necessary for forecasting and decision-making.

Clear international system forecasting.

Development of new technologies (resource-saving, using recyclable materials, natural springs energy).

Conclusion international cooperation to a new quality level. Concentration of efforts of all countries to solve global problems. Cooperation is necessary in creating the latest environmental technologies, a common world center for the study of global problems, a common fund of funds and resources, and information exchange.

QUESTIONS:

1. What meaning do social scientists put into the concept of “global problems of humanity”? Using knowledge from your social studies course, write two sentences containing information about global issues.

Definition: 1) Global problems are a set of problems that humanity faced in the second half of the 20th century and on the solution of which the existence of civilization depends.

Two proposals: 2) Solving global problems of humanity is possible only with the participation of the entire world community. 3) One of the global problems is the problem of peace and disarmament, preventing a new world war.

2. Name any three global problems of our time and give a specific example for each.

Ecological problem. Example: deforestation - the “lungs of the planet”, for example tropical forests in the Amazon River Valley.

Demographic. Example: the rapid increase in the birth rate in the modern world from 1.5 billion people at the beginning of the twentieth century, to 6.5 billion at the beginning of the 21st century. In the fall of 2011, the seven billionth inhabitant of the planet was recorded. The world's population is increasing exponentially and, according to the most conservative estimates, will reach 10 billion inhabitants by 2050.

The threat of a third world war. Example: if in the early 1950s of the twentieth century only two countries in the world had nuclear weapons, then to beginning of XXI century there have been about a dozen of them. Moreover, some of them are in a state of “ cold war» with each other, for example India and Pakistan.

3. Illustrate with three examples the relationship between problems relating to the widening gap between developed countries and Third World countries and the problem of preventing a new world war.

As examples illustrating the relationship of problems related to the widening gap between developed countries and third world countries with the problem of preventing a new world war, the following can be cited:

A significant number of local armed conflicts occur in “third world” countries, some of which have nuclear weapons (for example, the Indo-Pakistani conflict.

Due to the aggravation of the problem of providing raw materials and energy resources, the most developed countries of the world provoke, and sometimes themselves participate in, wars for control over sources of raw materials (for example, the war in the Persian Gulf or the US-Iraq war).

The poverty of certain regions of the planet contributes to the spread in them of the most radical, militant ideologies, whose adherents fight against developed countries (for example, Islamic terrorist organizations), etc.

4 . Read the text and complete the tasks for it.

“Most of the remaining higher species plants and animals. Those of them that man has chosen to satisfy his needs have long been adapted to his requirements with the sole purpose of producing for him as much food and raw materials as possible. Darwin's law no longer applies to them natural selection, which ensures genetic evolution and adaptability wild species. However, those species for which man could not find direct use are also doomed. Their natural abode and their resources were taken away and mercilessly destroyed in humanity's determined march forward. An equally sad fate awaits the untouched wild nature, which is still needed as habitat habitat of man himself for his physical and spiritual life. After all, by disturbing the ecological balance and irreparably reducing the life-supporting capacity of the planet, a person in this way can ultimately deal with his own species no worse than an atomic bomb.

And this is not the only way in which man’s new acquired power was reflected in his own position. Modern man began to live longer, which led to a population explosion. He learned to produce more of all kinds of things than ever before, and also in a much shorter time. Becoming like Gargantua, he developed an insatiable appetite for consumption and possession, producing more and more, drawing himself into a vicious cycle of growth with no end in sight.

A phenomenon was born that began to be called the industrial, scientific, and more often the scientific and technological revolution. The latter began when man realized that he could effectively and on an industrial scale put into practice his scientific knowledge about the world around him. This process is now in full swing and is gaining more and more speed.”

(According to A. Peccei)

1) Make a plan for the text. To do this, highlight the main semantic fragments of the text and title each of them.

3) Suggest why the constant increase in production and consumption threatens the future of humanity. Make two guesses.

5) In 1900, the world's population reached 1650 million people; in 1926 it amounted to 2 billion people; the third billion took 34 years; the next billion was added in 14 years; then - for 13; the increase in population from 5 to 6 billion people took 12 years and ended in 1999. What idea of ​​the author does the given facts illustrate? What are the dangers of the continued growth of the world's population?

1. Text outline:

The influence of modern man on nature.

Growing human needs.

Scientific and technological revolution.

Those species (species of plants and animals) that man has chosen to satisfy his needs have long been adapted to his requirements with the sole purpose of producing for him as much food and raw materials as possible.

Those species for which man has not been able to find direct use are doomed because their natural habitats and their resources have been taken away and mercilessly destroyed in mankind's purposeful advance.

A sad fate awaits the untouched wild nature, which is still needed as a natural habitat for man himself for his physical and spiritual life.

3. Two assumptions:

The growth of production and consumption leads to the search for additional resources, which leads people to the most remote and untouched corners wildlife. In turn, this upsets the already precarious balance between man and wild nature.

The constant increase in production and consumption will be accompanied by an increase in waste, which could lead to a global environmental disaster. For example, an increase in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere threatens the “greenhouse effect.”

The struggle for the redistribution of resources is the “third world war.”

Two major achievements of scientific and technological revolution:

Internet;

mobile connection.

Such facts illustrate the author’s next idea: “Modern man has begun to live longer, which has led to a demographic explosion.”

The danger is the coming overpopulation of the planet, which will not have enough resources to feed so many people. This threatens humanity with new wars, social cataclysms and other troubles.

Wild nature allows a person to enjoy the feeling of beauty, feel harmony with nature, experience a sense of peace, etc.

The information revolution taking place in modern conditions creates real technical and technological foundations for solving global problems. An economy built on a combination of market mechanisms and government regulation spontaneous economic processes, allowing for effective social protection population, overcome the conflict between production efficiency and social interests of people.

Arguments:

The idea of ​​non-violence, of solving emerging problems not by force, but by negotiations and the search for compromises, is gradually taking hold in the minds of politicians and becoming a reality. The irreconcilable ideological confrontation that resulted in psychological warfare is becoming a thing of the past. The foundations for tolerance and mutual cooperation within the world community are gradually strengthening, which creates the conditions for joint action to solve global problems.

The word “creative” used to be synonymous with “disorganized.” Today we want to see a person creative and free-thinking; we admire when a non-standard approach is found to a task.

There are two methods for solving problems:

• Analytical- you select solutions and then determine which one is correct.
• Intuitive (insight method)- the solution comes to your mind ready-made.

It is difficult to go beyond the boundaries when trying to solve a problem analytically, but the insight method is perfect for this.

Scientists have checked Insight solutions are correct more often than analytical solutions both methods and found that the insight method gave more correct answers than analysis. Brain scan showed The Origins of Insight in Resting-State Brain Activity: in people, problem solvers thus, the anterior cingulate cortex is activated. This area monitors conflicts between brain regions and identifies opposing strategies. With its help, a person can see non-obvious ways to solve a problem and direct attention to them.

In addition, during epiphanies, people noted more distracted attention. It allows you to see the whole without focusing on the specific.

Distracted attention is typical for a person in a relaxed state and in high spirits. You're not completely focused on the task, but you're not with your head in the clouds either. Perhaps this is why most epiphanies come to people in, for example, in the bathroom. If you have such an insight, along with it will come the confidence that the decision is the right one. And, judging by scientific data, he should be trusted.

No matter what method you use to solve problems, you do it better than your not-so-distant ancestors.

We are smarter than people who lived 100 years ago

IQ test scores have been increasing since 1930 The Flynn Effect: A Meta-analysis by three points every decade. This trend is called the Flynn effect, named after the professor who discovered it, James Flynn.

There are several reasons for this pattern:

• The quality of life has increased. The nutrition of pregnant women and infants has improved, and the number of children in the family has decreased. Now people invest in the development and education of their children until they graduate from university.
• Education has improved.
• The characteristics of work have changed. Mental work, as a rule, is valued and paid higher than physical work.
• The cultural environment has changed. In the modern world, people receive much more incentives for brain development: books, the Internet, varied communication, not limited by place of residence.
• People are used to questions from IQ tests. Since childhood, we have been able to solve such problems and use abstract thinking, so we do it better.

We are much luckier than our grandparents, but our children will not necessarily be smarter. Already now in developed European countries an anti-effect was discovered The negative Flynn Effect: A systematic literature review Flynn: after the 2000s, the growth of intelligence stopped and even began to decline.

Scientists suggest that the impact of the environment has not reached its peak: it simply cannot be better. People already eat well, have one or two children and study until they are 16–23 years old. They cannot have fewer children or study longer, so it is not surprising that intelligence has stopped growing.

We have become better at solving problems on paper, but does this affect real life? After all, a person is not a machine, and mistakes often occur from an incorrect assessment of information and the characteristics of our perception.

We lack critical thinking

People tend to make mistakes and see only one side of a problem. One example of this type of thinking is the availability heuristic, where a person judges the frequency and possibility of an event by the ease with which examples come to mind.

Using this method, we rely on our memory and do not take into account real statistics. For example, a person is afraid of dying from a terrorist attack or a tornado, but does not even think about a heart attack or. Simply because high-profile cases are shown more often on TV.

Such errors include the anchor effect Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases when people's decisions are influenced by arbitrary data obtained from environment. This effect is well demonstrated by an experiment by psychologist Daniel Kahneman. Subjects were asked to spin a wheel of fortune, on which the number 10 or 65 randomly fell out. After this, participants had to estimate the percentage of African countries in the UN. People who saw 10 on the wheel always named a lower number than those who saw 65, although they knew that this was completely unrelated.

People like this follow us everywhere. Learning to notice them is very important, especially in the modern world, where fake news and myths pour in from all sides.

To avoid becoming a victim of illusions, learn to question all information, choose reliable sources and evaluate your beliefs from time to time, even if they seem to be the only true ones.

It is also useful to communicate with a wide range of people to develop critical thinking. We are usually drawn to those who share our views. But to develop the habit of critical thinking, we need people we know who disagree with us. They will give us a lot to think about and perhaps force us to reconsider our beliefs.