A decade ago, in a city far, far away, my co-founder insisted that I watch A Ted Talk. Not just any pop idea monger mind you, but a bonafied Chief Belief Officer, Devdutt Pattanaik, sharing about the mythological differences between East and West. Devdutt's story begins with a race between two brothers three times around the world. One went around the globe, the other waited until the first brother had completed two very long laps and then calmly walked around their parents. That brother then said, "You went around the world. I went around 'my world.' What matters more?"
If you understand the difference between “the world” and “my world,” you understand the difference between logos and mythos. “The world” is objective, logical, universal, factual, scientific. “My world” is subjective. It's emotional. It's personal. It’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, dreams. It is the belief system that we carry. It's the myth that we live in. “The world” tells us how the world functions, how the sun rises, how we are born. “My world” tells us why the sun rises, why we were born. Every culture is trying to understand itself: "Why do we exist?" And every culture comes up with its own understanding of life, its own customized version of mythology.
The first time I watched Devdutt's talk, I didn't get it. My co-founder insisted, rather rightly to be honest, that I watch it until I grokked it. Watching that talk in series rocked what I thought was a very cosmopolitan global outlook but really was very grounded in a particular perspective from Southern California. More recently, late last year I took a job as a generalist fixer of sorts at my hometown water utility. Wearing many hats, I got to see my little So Cal suburb in an entirely new light. I literally got to see underneath the streets I used to roam. Once when a neighbor ran into a fire hydrant (good reminder not to text and drive!), I got to "sweep the streets I used to own."
Well not really but it was a humbling exercise in some silly I need to get over myself ways. (Mostly my prideful high school self never would have imagined working at my hometown water utility and honestly would not have seen that as successful.) But hey I also moved back to my hometown and could walk to work. From a global perspective and particularly given the realities of life in California for my generation, I was beyond lucky to live in a detached single family home with a job that I could support a family. So much is about perspective. My world, my choice 🙂
I found several streets that I somehow always managed to sidestep in my earlier time growing up there. Some of the coolest parts of the gig were seeing parts of the neighborhood that I didn't know existed. For example, there's a tunnel dating back to the turn of the last century and an actual castle at the top of one hill. Kinda wild. The other big reason that everything looked different was now I had a kid. Parks were no longer (just) about potential slackline setups and ball sports. My primary park objective was finding spots to take my toddler. Well that and learning from the community about their water concerns.
I also saw some sad sights in the election season. No I don't mean the people from Other Team showing their support for the Wrong Guy. Since the start of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, there'd be folks supporting the troops and supporting peace down in the little mini-downtown that's really just a cute little shopping street. That had pretty much petered out. I would walk to a pocket park a block from the where we lived and see a memorial to the older brother of a guy I played football in high school, an early casualty from that unending, too often forgotten fight in another country's civil war in a far away land.
Civic life felt viscerally odd and atrophied. Last I lived in town, politics was something that was a bit boring perhaps but not a show stopper for disagreement. Now, like the rest of the country, it felt on the brink of an uncivil war. At the YMCA, several times when I went into the sauna I'd strike up a conversation to find the old dudes there complaining about how they didn't feel free to talk politics anymore. Sorta sad and really a signal of larger shifts in our crazy mixed up times. Since my co-founder and I are city data people by training, I'll end this musing by sharing a framing I've found useful in navigating both THE and MY (or understanding another's) world.
The Bias and Variance Tradeoff is a central concept in extracting meaning and making decisions from data.
Here is a nice little proclamation from my AI oracle elaborating on the connection between this data based concept and contemporary issues in the uncivil culture war.
Bias in the Bias-Variance Tradeoff
In machine learning, bias refers to systematic errors due to overly simplistic assumptions in a model. In society, bias can be thought of as entrenched norms, stereotypes, or rigid systems that fail to account for the richness of human experiences and diversity. High bias in organizations might lead to:
Overgeneralization: Applying narrow frameworks to complex situations, like assuming one solution works for everyone.
Exclusion: Marginalizing people whose perspectives don't fit the dominant narrative.
For example, an organization with high bias might hire from a narrow demographic, excluding diverse talent and perspectives.
Variance in the Bias-Variance Tradeoff
In machine learning, variance refers to sensitivity to fluctuations in data, leading to overfitting and poor generalization. In societal terms, variance could represent the potential chaos or inefficiency of excessive diversity without shared frameworks, such as:
Conflict of Perspectives: Diverse opinions may lead to decision-making paralysis or disagreement.
Lack of Cohesion: Too much variability can hinder a group's ability to focus on shared goals.
For instance, a team with no guiding principles may struggle to act cohesively despite having diverse members.
The Tradeoff in Human Organizations
Balancing bias and variance involves recognizing that diversity and inclusion (variance) must be paired with systems and values that unify people (bias). A successful organization or society needs to:
Reduce Bias Without Overfitting: Minimize systemic prejudice and increase representation while ensuring shared values and goals to prevent chaos.
Harness Variance Without Losing Generalization: Encourage a range of perspectives but with structures in place to synthesize them into coherent, actionable outcomes.
The rest I leave as an exercise to you dear reader. Watching Devdutt's talk offers a good place as any to starting understanding America's* mythological world, whose contradictions and discrepancies form the antecedents of our ongoing uncivil culture war.
*By "America" here, I mean the United States, not the continent, per the common and let's be honest rather hubristic convention.
