You wanted a second part of the 40 key concepts to understand the world. Here you have it. Another 40 more. With much more information and sources.
In your life you will have received so much counterintuitive information in such a short time. 15 minutes equal to a year. Guaranteed. Welcome to this hyper-mega-compressed pill for your brain.
1. Look for causes, not villains
When something goes wrong, don't try to find one person or group to blame for everything. Bad things can happen even if no one wants them to happen.. It is more productive to dedicate your energy to understanding the multiple interrelated causes or system that has created the situation.
2. Glorify systems, not heroes
What makes the world a better place are the systems, the procedures, the regulations, the firewalls, the checklists, the ecosystems. However, we prefer to look for geniuses, heroes or charismatic politicians because our brain understands the world better by individualizing. Don't let him do it. Even the best innovations are the result of a system, not an isolated brain.
3. Be careful with popular culture
Sentences, proverbs, apothegms... even these same concepts can be reviewed, challenged and questioned. Getting carried away by them is a bad idea. TOOtherwise, we will almost always find another equally popular idea that contradicts the first one..
Also be careful with what everyone says without checking it. Because no, Napoleon was not shorter than average. No, Frankenstein's monster was not green. No, in the Sherlock Holmes novels he never dressed like that, nor did he smoke a pipe, nor did he say "elementary dear Watson."
Nor has it been documented that a real pirate ever drew a treasure map (let alone marked the location of the treasure with an X). Oh, and the pirates didn't have a peg leg or a parrot on their shoulder either. The Vikings' helmets also did not have horns. Chastity belts have never existed. Brown sugar is usually worse than white, orange juice is as harmful as soda...
In the following video you can see the rest of the key concepts to improve your understanding of this very complex world:
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The news
40 other key concepts to improve your understanding of the world
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.