Witt's End

We all have confirmation bias. Let’s just get that out of the way. We also have experience. And we have expertise. That means we all have a limited scope of the world in one way or another. Let’s get that out of the way. Our limited scope and confirmation bias leave us open to to unavoidable natural distortions of the media. The normalization of the novelty, and everything being fair and equal. If we aren’t aware of these and don’t look at things critically we can get lost in information and our own desired outcomes.  So let’s examine novelty and fairness and how they can be distorted.  Few things spread as quickly as a novel news story. It’s what sells. Its what is most sensational. But ironically what can be known widespread may not be a commonplace occurrence. News stories are typically what's abnormal or sensational. They are not what's typical. What's typical wouldn't be news. It's that simple.  I think it' s fairly easy to see how the news constantly repor...

 How are we ever going to be able to unite on solving problems if we can’t agree on sources to use? Several times in the past few years I’ve been asked to share my opinion on topics I’ve researched. This has ranged from healthcare, to mental health prevalence, to racial disparity, and now COVID. I’m willing to put in the time and read a lot of source material to form an opinion. I don’t really go with my gut. I chase information and roll it over and over until I have a new opinion. Because I’ve put in that effort I’m often asked about my opinion, often by people who haven’t taken the same amount of time. I try to preface any discussion of this nature by disclosing it’s my interpretation of data I’ve studied, and this is my conclusion. I’ve discovered a troubling trend when I’ve done this. If the conclusion doesn’t fit the questioner’s paradigm, then all of the data used to form the conclusion becomes suspect. That we can’t trust the collectors of data, or there are ulterior motives...

When we talk about challenges we usually focus on the one facing it. This is especially true of challenges that involve physical or mental challenges and disabilities. We rightfully talk about struggles, progress, and effort. We look at accommodations and aid. In all this I worry that we don't talk about those around them enough.  Spouses, partners, children, siblings, parents, friends. Those who love us who struggle. They pay a pretty price. They truly give so much to help us. To survive at times along us. To keep their own heads above water. I often underestimated the personal sacrifices people around me made.  Change is hard and progress is hard. And it can be even harder not for the person changing but for those most involved in their lives. I know we often talk about how hard it can be to see changes in ourselves but it can be even more difficult for those who care for us to see them. If the daily needs and support haven't yet changed then it can be hard to see any of the...

I was one of the little kids growing up. That can be hard to believe given my 5'11" frame that has only been below 200lbs for a brief period in the last decade. But it's the hand over heart truth. I was little. 5'0" part way through freshman year little. Fit in the locker all of middle school, was consistently short in elementary school little.  I was also a nerd. Super nerd. With a 90s bowl cut. I loved to watch Star Wars,  Wishbone, most cartoons. I read Animorphs, comics, and the World Book Encyclopedia, all the time. I was obsessed with animals and sci-fi (and eventually fantasy, yay Redwall and Tolkien). I averaged over 100k new pages of new material in the summer.  All of the above was true, as was a love of sports. A big love. A love that I didn't feel that I could deliver on.  See I was often picked next to last or last. And it wasn't for a lack of trying. If you're literally on the little dudes, and you get pegged or slammed, you're down. ...

I hate not breathing. I really really do. It's one of the worst feelings that there is. Your body tells you, informs you how vital the function that's missing is. I've had a few different times in my life  I hate wildfire season. Living in a valley prone to inversions has been interesting. It's resulted in that difficulty breathing more than once. This year is starting to shape up dangerously. The debate surrounding these fires seems to be that it's either a result of global climate change or poor forestry practices. After this year's record heat wave I would proffer that two things can be true at once. And I would also proffer that they can exacerbate each other. This not an easy dichotomy. This is a problem with multiple variables that we need to take into account.  The truth is that the earth does appear to be warming. The truth is that we don’t deal with underbrush and forest management like we used to. The truth is that because both of these are true, it’s ...

 Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The four steps I’ve learned my entirely life as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I recited it in primary. I taught it as a missionary. It’s been an ingrained thing that often became recitation and less practice. There are other aspects of faith like that. For me it’s the primary answers for any spiritual problems, “pray, read your scriptures, and go to church.” It’s easy for these to become rote and routine that they lose their power. I want it back. Most of the time when we discuss power in religion we are talking about miracles or acts of God. We’re discussing the power of creation,  Moses splitting the Red Sea, Christ raising the dead, the resurrection, the Apostles casting out devils or healing the lame. The big stuff. I worry that by focusing so much of the power on the big stuff that we can trumpet off the mountaintops that we lose sight of the quieter powers. The power to change people. Too often in my ...