On a scale from 1 to 10, how well do you understand how zippers work? …. Okay, next question. How does a zipper work? Describe in as much detail as you can, all the steps involved in a zipper’s operation. If you’re like most people, you don’t work in a zipper factory and have little to say in response to the second question. You don’t really know how zippers work. So, here’s another question, on the same 1 to 10 scale, please rate your knowledge on how a zipper works again. I’m assuming it’s less than your first answer. 

Why do we assume a higher level of knowledge? Well, the simplest answer to that question is it’s the easiest and most energy efficient way to go about our day. If we had to know all the inner-workings of everything we encountered to get through our day, we would never make it past cooking breakfast without wanting to go back to bed. It’s not a bad thing to have so little detailed knowledge about how things work. For the most part, it’s necessary. We learn from previous experiences we’ve had an apply that going forward without having to apply additional thought. This allows us to focus on only what we need, while filtering everything else out. 

The problem comes when people start speaking or spreading information as though they they worked in our proverbial zipper factory, without actually ever stepping foot in one. Unfortunately, just because someone reads a post about YKK, doesn’t make them an expert on the subject. Just because someone can regurgitate facts, doesn’t make them capable of putting concepts together across genres, in an effort to deliver a broader picture. Just because someone prefers a zipper, doesn’t mean it’s better than a button It may just be that prefer the zipper because they can’t figure out how to use a button. 

The world we live in is driven by emotion and fueled by abstract bits of information woven into a narrative to justify that feeling. In an effort to simplify the message, the complexity of details gets lost as conflicting narratives emerge. If you don’t work in the “factory,” it’s very easy to become susceptible to people who seem like they do, and say things you like hearing. We all want the best advice possible, but with no real understanding about how the “factory” is working, how can you really discern whether it’s information or misinformation used to further a narrative.

It should seem alarming that everyone is now an expert in the health field and has “facts” to back it up, yet, these people have no real concept of health or how to achieve it. It’s fucking dangerous in more ways than one because these are the people whose voice is often the loudest. We all have our areas of expertise, but on most subjects (specifically health), the majority of people only dive deep enough to string together shallow bits of information, while in reality what we know is little more than a feeling of understanding that we really can’t unpack. Attaining real knowledge is hard work, that is why most people just rearrange their prejudices and call it learning.