Full Transcript for #3 Slowing Down Is A Radical Act

WEBVTT 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:16.960 Welcome to Radical Pamphlets Here and Now, an audio production of the New Perennials Project at Middlebury College. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:25.199 For centuries, pamphlets were utilized to demand reform, equality, and justice. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:30.320 Sadly, it is the necessary work that must be taken up with every new generation. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:39.920 Our pamphlets are rooted in the local and written by teachers, farmers, students, artists, community caretakers, and neighbors. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:46.799 They offer common sense and practical advice to slow down and attend to the here and now wherever you are. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:48.079 Enjoy. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:01:00.240 Slowing down is a radical act, a new perennials publication written and narrated by Kylie King. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:08.000 In a culture that values efficiency and growth, the power of slowing down is often ignored. 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:14.000 Capitalist consumerism values the rate of growth rather than the depth of growth. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.680 This rate-centered form of growth is unsustainable. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:22.560 It is similar to the rapid and brief life cycle that annual plants undergo. 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:30.480 They have a relatively shallow root structure that allows them to grow and produce seeds, but then they die at the end of the season. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:46.079 An alternative to this rapid growth and death cycle is a slower pace, much like that of a perennial plant, where growth is a result of deep connection and understanding, and the plant's deep-reaching roots are able to support its continued development. 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:53.760 The value that society places on quantity over quality is visible in the type of media we consume. 00:01:54.079 --> 00:02:03.120 There has been a rise in the amount of short-form content available, which is designed to spread copious amounts of information in the shortest amount of time possible. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:07.439 There are countless sources of new information published each second. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:13.599 Content consumption is a rat race, exposing people to as much information as possible. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:20.159 The goal has become how much you can learn rather than how deeply can you learn. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:26.719 Rapid information gives the illusion of learning, yet after hours of scrolling, we know nothing. 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:32.479 We are not machines, so why do we expect ourselves to take in information as if we are? 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:37.360 Another issue with short form content is the behavior that it encourages. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:43.439 Social media, a type of short form content, encourages individualism and novelty. 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:48.960 People are encouraged to brand themselves in order to gain popularity and money. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:57.039 This results in competition to continuously create new ideas and content, even if it sacrifices depth and meaning. 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:07.599 We are not encouraged to explore the ideas of previous thinkers and seek to understand the information that is already present, because novelty is valued more than depth. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:13.120 The quantity of production is like the above-ground growth of a plant. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.719 The quality of production is like the roots of the plant. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:24.159 When the rate of production supersedes the quality and depth of the roots, the plant ultimately collapses. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:34.240 Societal progress does not need to look like exponential growth, but could rather look like a thoughtful, deeper understanding of pre-existing ideas. 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:43.120 Aside from social media, short form content includes any type of content that is designed to be consumed relatively quickly. 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:45.680 For example, book summaries. 00:03:46.159 --> 00:04:00.560 While reading a summary of a book allows you to gain a general understanding of the book's main messages, it removes the most important part of reading, which is developing the ability to take in information and think about it critically. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:10.719 Being presented with someone else's analysis before having the opportunity to think for yourself makes it difficult to achieve the same level of critical thinking. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:17.600 I notice the more that I read other people's opinions on a topic, the more confined my thinking becomes. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:22.639 I feel limited to the scope of what other people have already decided is true. 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:30.639 When thinking about environmental solutions, it's important to think critically about what we currently believe to be true. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.600 Meaningful change requires that we change the way we think about the environment. 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:45.199 Therefore, the ability to find solutions to our current climate crisis requires that we first open ourselves up to new ways of thinking and new realities. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:50.720 How can we change our reality if we are not even able to envision a new reality? 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:55.519 One solution I propose is to look to long-form content. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:02.319 Unlike short form content, long-form content seeks to deepen the audience's understanding of a topic. 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:07.759 The difference between long form and short form content is attention levels. 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:18.240 Short form content requires your attention to be spread thinly across many ideas, whereas long form content requires you to put a lot of attention into one topic. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.759 Long forms encourage deep thinking and feeling. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:28.959 They call the reader to reflect on their experiences rather than drawing them away and distracting