How Seeing Both Sides of an Issue Keeps Us Stubbornly Young

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I was fascinated by the data being collected around polarized attitudes and immediately thought this could be interesting for you, the Stubbornly Young audience.

Stephen is an impressive guy. He consults for Harvard University, the Aspen Institute, and others, and has co-authored several reports that have been featured over a thousand times in media by presidential candidates on C-SPAN, even for a panel at the UN General Assembly.

He shares valuable and insightful notions regarding generational perspectives, and working towards the idea of keeping an open mind through effective exercises that bring people together and reduce prejudices between generations.

Stephen shares real life examples and the notion of increasing absence of building quality community and civic participation in the younger generation because of local and global events of the last 50 years. To have intergenerational interactions and applying intellectual humility to bridge the gap between the younger generation and those in their 50s and 60s and have natural interaction and learning about each other is something that is needed to improve mental health and building a stronger social fabric.   

Keep listening after the interview for a bonus conversation at the end of the show where Dave speaks further with Stephen where they discuss more on Stephen's own opinions and valuable insights of society and its future beyond the 21st Century and for generations to come.

Top Takeaways:

• Importance of intellectual humility, empathy, and open-mindedness in navigating societal divisions
• Impact of generational differences and the role of older generations in bridging the gap between different perspectives
• Value of open conversations with people holding different perspectives and listening with empathy
• Potential role of people in their 50s, 60s, and beyond in bringing people together and fostering unity
• Challenges faced by younger generations, such as lack of community and declining civic participation
• Significance of fostering open-mindedness, empathy, and community engagement in addressing societal divisions
• Media and political environments' cynical nature and systemic incentives leading to negative outcomes
• Need for leadership to construct both the potential for disaster and prosperity, urging for honesty and a focus on general wellbeing
• Importance of coordinating efforts to achieve a prosperous future and shift away from negativity

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“We have more division and fracturing in perspectives on society, not because things are going badly, but because a lot of different groups are acting in their interests very effectively.” –Stephen Hawkins

“If I could have a megaphone and speak to younger generations and the stubbornly young, the values that I am most eager to see in society today are curiosity, empathy, humility, personal responsibility. All of those things are related to having an open mind.” –Stephen Hawkins

“An open mind keeps us fresh, and it's better for the world.” –Dave Tabor

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