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The Need for Multidimensional Understanding

in Hunome/by hunomer

As a gateway to truth and empathy, we need to shift towards learning from a wider range of perspectives.

It Signifies a Reliable Source

You’re not stupid. Your interests are complex and multifaceted. If there existed a simple answer or solution, you’d probably already know about it. For instance, there’s a reason why you are interested in optimizing learning rather than whether learning is valuable at all — we already agree that learning is positive, but the best way to do it is still open for discussion.

It shouldn’t then come as a surprise that, when identifying a reliable source on cutting edge topics, American neuroscientist Dr.Andrew Huberman simply looks for multidimensional understanding. He responds to the question of how to identify a credible source:

When you see people talk in absolutes about anything with very strong statements about anything, that’s somewhere where you might need to pause and reflect. So, does someone have [something] that they promise fixes everything? Similarly, do they demonize [something] as the cause of all chronic disease, and if we take care of this one particular issue, then everything is fixed? Does the answer seem overly simplistic in how to tackle it?

When assessing credibility amongst the seemingly unnavigable sea of fake news, he looks for multidimensional understanding over certifications.

Can’t Experts do the Heavy Lifting for Me?

You may now be wondering, do I really need to learn directly from many perspectives? Isn’t that what experts do for me when they present their overarching conclusions in common mediums like books or articles? In his greatest work The Denial of Death, American Anthropologist Ernest Becker reasons why even the works of geniuses like Freud should be taken as single perspectives to ponder amongst the rest.

The problem of man’s knowledge is not to oppose and to demolish opposing views but to include them in a larger theoretical structure…

Usually in order to turn out a piece of work, the author has to exaggerate the emphasis of it, to oppose it in a forcefully competitive way against other versions of truth, and he gets carried away with his own exaggeration, as his distinctive image is built on it. But each honest thinker who is an empiricist has to have some truth in his position, no matter how extremely he has formulated it.

Works are responses to ongoing historical context. They argue their points too strongly in order to balance the scales against other works. We must treat them as such and explore their fields of context before extracting truth.

It Increases Empathy

Becker further argued that acknowledging the limited but existing merit of individual perspectives connects us to the lives of others through shared mortality and human experience. This no doubt leads to empathy and a long road of love and kindness.

It Provides a More Objective View of our Beliefs

Host of podcast Philosophize This! Steven West understands yet another powerful conclusion from Becker’s work. The discovered shared mortality and human experience allows for a more objective view of our held beliefs.

Maybe that can help us recognize where the desire to dehumanise or silence another groups is actually coming from. And maybe if we can get there, maybe we can learn to differentiate which of these illusions we cling to are life affirming, which ones serve others, which ones are not in fact a direct threat to our existence, which of those promote the freedom, dignity, and hope of other people. And then on the other hand, which of these illusions are just about us being immoral? A desperate attempt to calm a scared monkey that doesn’t like the idea of not being the most important monkey in the world.

Understanding our beliefs for what they are and their worldly consequences sets the stage for their manipulation for a better world.

These two takeaways should not be taken lightly from Becker. He is known as a pessimist as his philosophy asserts that our greatest motivator is fear of death.

Conclusion

Learning from a range of perspectives offers more reliable information, holistic understanding, increased empathy, a more objective and pragmatic understanding of our beliefs, and a better world.

Where to Start

While experts don’t do a very good job fairly representing these perspectives, Hunome does.

Hunome is a platform for multidimensional understanding. It is a space where all perspectives can be heard regardless of the popularity of their authors. Your unique view point is in good company. Join us to learn from and contribute to holistic understanding.

Works Cited

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. Free Press. 31 December 1973.

Ferriss, Tim. “#521: Dr.Andrew Huberman — A Neurobiologist on Optimising Sleep, Enhancing Performance, Reducing Anxiety, Increasing Testosterone, and Using the Body to Control the Mind” The Tim Ferriss Show, Dr.Andrew Huberman, 7 July 2021. Spotify

West, Steven. “Episode #163 … The Creation of Meaning — Escape From Evil” Philosophise This!, 2 March 2022. Spotify

What is a humanity explorer?

in Hunome/by Dominique Jaurola

We talk about humanity explorers a lot here at Hunome. In fact, we love them. Which is why we’ve designed our collective insights platform with them in mind.

But what exactly do we mean by a humanity explorer? In this blog, we break down the DNA of humanity explorers.

1. Humanity explorers come from all walks of life

Whether they are professionally curious, or personally interested in everything about the world around them, humanity explorers take many forms.

They could be designers, marketers, strategists – people whose job it is to understand how the world works or think about how it should work. Or they could simply be someone who is curious about why people think and act the way they do. Gartner estimates there are 1bn knowledge workers, and up to 50% of developed world adults can be considered to be a ‘cultural creative’.

They may already identify as a humanity explorer, or have no idea, but whatever their background, the thing that ties all together is a hunger to understand ‘why’ and ‘what next.

2. Humanity explorers are empathetic and insightful

A person who is a humanity explorer can be more empathetic to many kinds of life situations, and tends to have a broader world view. This natural curiosity and sense of collective results in an insightful outlook – perhaps a finger on real world frustrations and human goals, or a better view of potential and opportunities. They may be seen to have a creative streak in many ways, as insightfulness may present itself as creativity.

DNA of a Humanity Explorer — A look at the DNA of Humanity Explorers

3. Humanity explorers don’t see the world in black and white

We’ve already mentioned that a humanity explorer has a broad worldview. Their attitudes to society and the world around them is encompassing and open. Alongside this is their ability to see, and appreciate the nuance. They know that a black and white view of the world is simplistic and in some cases problematic. They may even go so far as to seek out the many shades of grey in between, building bridges across silos and digging into their area of interest to get the full picture.

4. Humanity explorers are curious about the bigger picture

As empathetic people who are interested in nuance, humanity explorers tend to see themselves as a part of a whole. They accept that a better functioning system is the one that takes these varying sides into consideration, and will actively work towards finding this out. Their collective view makes them less self-centred and more human-aware.

5. Humanity explorers make better decisions

With that in mind, humanity explorers make decisions that tend to be more sustainable. By taking into account all viewpoints, the outcome of a decision isn’t weak in argument, or driven into a simplistic corner. It’s robust, insightful and brings together many different types of thinking for a better, long lasting result. For more on how to make better decisions, read our blog.

Think you could be a humanity explorer? Take our quiz to find out or sign up for Hunome, the collective insights platform for humanity explorers.

People rush past each other ignoring each other's humanity

Social disparity: Is the world growing further apart?

in Humanness/by Dominique Jaurola

Last year, we saw many issues that divided the world. The US presidential race, the world-wide Black Lives Matters movement, masks, to name a few.

Of course, this extreme polarization itself isn’t the issue. There will always be people at either the ends of the spectrum of any debate. Social disparity lies with the lack of nuance. The ‘you’re either with us or against us’ attitude.

We find ourselves in a very black or white world without the many shades of grey that color any healthy debate. Complex issues are boiled down to simply ‘For’ or ‘Against’ and we find ourselves growing further away from those who have a different perspective.

But how have we got to this point, and how can we fix it?

Social media advertising breeds disparity

Mika Raulas talks about the social media advertising model in his blog. Social platforms package up data on users and sell super-targeted advertising to companies who want to reach their perfect customers.

But these algorithms aren’t designed with the individuals using the platforms in mind, rather those who want to target them.

This is why you often see the same type of content that you’ve engaged with displayed over and over again. The results are an echo chamber where very specific views are played back to the individual, and amplified through their network.

There becomes very little space for diversity of thought when it appears as though your particular brand of thinking is the main stance on a subject.

Social disparity hinders problem-solving

Segmented perspectives are great for advertisers, but not so good for problem-solving.

When we consider wicked problems and the systems thinking needed to approach them, polarization makes it harder to come up with a solution. I talk about the future of humanity and how a holistic view helps us understand the full problem, but also how changes to one component affects other areas.

On the other hand, a narrower view removes our ability to address these types of problems. We become so focused on our own view without considering the big picture, and without exercising our curiosity or empathy.

For example, lack of fair access to education is a global issue, a wicked problem, and a symptom of social disparity. Improving access to education requires exploring every perspective to build a better understanding of the issue.

Diversity in perspectives challenges our own thinking and encourages us to view the world in a different way. It can even make us smarter. It’s here where creativity and innovation are born.

Disparity in gathering information

But even gathering different perspectives to further our thinking, can promote social disparity.

In today’s world, information is fragmented or held in siloes. You might watch a video, or read an article and browse the relevant Wikipedia page to understand an issue. But you may never get access to academic research on the topic or have sight of someone’s private musings.

Pulling together information to get a true picture of things takes time and money. Gaining understanding becomes about those who have the ability to do so, and those who have not. It also limits the scope of design, problem-solving and decision-making to be geared towards those who have, which widens the gulf further.

If we want to close the gap, we must stop wearing our differences as badges and start embracing our diverse points of views. Once people can be brought together around a theme, we can start building a better society, together.

Here are just some perspectives about social disparity. Come add your own to help build a multidimensional understanding of social disparity, and other themes.

People at work listening to each other speak in a meeting

Why you should be leading with humanity

in Leadership/by Mika Raulas

In a data-driven economy, we have many indicators of performance that help us navigate our way through the business landscape. However, the numbers only tell one story, and leading with humanity can help you build a more robust path forward.

Leading with data vs leading with humanity

As a leader it can be easy to fall into the habit of focusing on the numbers – productivity, efficiency and the bottom line. After all, data is a black and white indicator of what’s working for your business, and what isn’t – especially when times are hard.

The numbers are readily available too – everything from revenue to life time value to employee sentiment is available at a click of a button. The problem is that while these numbers help leaders make decisions about their business, they miss one crucial element – the human factor, and how a clear insight on what is important to people can help you make your company stand out.

Yes, great leadership is about solid business acumen and making the right decisions for your company. But leaders should also be actively trying to understand the humans involved, customers, employees, communities, to add dimension to the numbers and the impact of their data-driven decisions.

Human-aware leadership for better decisions

By understanding the people involved, leaders can get a better understanding of how your company fits into their lives. For example, sales data may show you that wardrobe sales are up, however understanding the human shows that buying good quality furniture from sustainable wood is at the top of your customers’ mind. One indicator may lead you to ramp up production from cheaper, less sustainable sources, and then leave you wondering why your sales have suddenly dropped off, whereas the other could open up a market that you hadn’t previously considered.

Dominique Jaurola shares 3 tips to making better, human-centered decisions, both personally and professionally.

Human-aware leadership for better understanding

Leading with humanity also requires a degree of empathy. Understanding the problems of the people who you impact can help you to find solutions that are meaningful.

One story that really hits the nail on the head is that of Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, who made headlines by giving everyone in his company a minimum wage of $70,000. After hearing first hand from employees who were struggling financially (and were somewhat disgruntled), then crunching the numbers, he realised that he could make a difference in their lives.

The really amazing thing here is that not only did this increase employee satisfaction amongst more junior employees who got a pay increase, but more senior people were happy to take pay cuts to work for Gravity because it was putting its people first.

Leading with humanity and better motivation

Here’s the thing: leading with humanity leads to better motivation. We can see this in the case of Gravity Payments and their customers. Communities are motivated to engage more with brands that show their humanity, customers are motivated to do business with companies that show their human side, and will in some cases, be happy to pay a premium to do so.

Humanness is a powerful motivator for those who your company touches, but as a leader, how can you go about fostering understanding? My advice to you is this: fuel your curiosity.

Go out of your way to understand different perspectives on every aspect of your business.
Consider every perspective, no matter how insignificant it may seem – some of the brightest gems come from the most unexpected places.
Don’t rely on the numbers alone – find ways to discover that much needed depth.

Good leaders are the ones who can steer their ship in the right direction. Great leaders are the ones who take the time to learn from everyone who is coming along for the journey.

For more information on how Hunome can help you lead with humanity, please get in touch, otherwise sign up for Hunome to join.

Here are just some perspectives about leading with humanity. Come add your own to help build a multidimensional understanding of human-centered leadership, and other themes.

Hunome: the new platform set to revolutionize our understanding of humanity

in News/by hunomer

Today marks the launch of Hunome, a collective insights platform helping humanity make sense of itself.

Hunome is a new way to understand all things human. The platform connects and analyzes member perspectives to collectively build smart data around themes that relate to humans and humanity. Using human ingenuity and data analytics as a springboard to better understanding, Hunome facilitates complex problem-solving and better decision-making for both individuals and organizations, which evolves as more perspectives are added.

Dominique Jaurola, CEO and Founder of Hunome, said:

“There are many points in life when you need to ‘know’ about humans, whether you’re looking for inspiration, trying to solve a human-centered problem, or simply curious about why something is a certain way. To get a holistic view takes time and money to pull together information that is scattered or siloed across the internet – and often the incomplete picture leads to a simplistic understanding of our humanness. Hunome gives our community the minute detail and the big picture surrounding any theme.”

Members can journey through different perspectives on many themes, while making connections by adding their own points of view. They can then dig deeper into data-driven insights to get greater understanding on the theme and the people who have contributed to it.

“With Hunome, anyone can see change as it happens, follow a theme as it evolves and grow their understanding alongside it,” Dominique continues, “The world we live in needs solutions that are not meaningful to think about in isolation. Our dream is to create an understanding of who we humans are, why we are, what we would like to change. We want to give our humanness – past, present and future – a voice, and each member a position on the map of this understanding. Our launch today is the first step in our journey to making the world a more perceptive place.”

Start building a better understanding of humanity by signing up for Hunome.

Ends

Contact:

Chantel Gohil-Gray – [email protected]

About Hunome

Hunome is a collective insights platform helping humanity make sense of itself. We’re revolutionizing our understanding of what it means to be human. Our platform combines connects and analyzes perspectives to collectively build smart data so that anyone can connect perspectives, evolve insights and create new understanding.

www.hunome.com

3 tips to make better decisions in every aspect of your life

in Humanness/by Dominique Jaurola

Make better decisions. It sounds simple but in practice, it’s not as easy you might think.

As humans we make more or less 35,000 decisions a day. These decisions can vary from the small things; like what socks to wear; or whether to watch the news, to the bigger choices; will a gap year be detrimental to my career prospects; should we be making environmentally-friendly lifestyle changes; do I go for the big promotion?

When considering the bigger decisions that we make, both personally and professionally, we know that the outcomes of these decisions have an impact on wellbeing. I loved Barry Schwartz’s great TedTalk about how more choice has made western societies more dissatisfied, rather than making us happier.

The fundamentals of most strategies for decision-making include objective setting, investigation, establishing options, reacting and evaluating. Many of us already follow this pattern in some form or another, whether consciously or not, from a very young age. And for that reason, I don’t tell you how to make a decision – I want to share how you can make better decisions. Ones that consider all the variables, have maximum impact, and are sustainable in the long run.

Tip 1. Take a moment to understand the whole issue

The decision you are making may be based on one area and it’s direct impact to you. Take the decision of whether you should go freelance, for example. Going freelance would give you more flexibility and potentially more money.

But like most things relating to us humans, there’s likely to be a series of interconnect points, or systems, that exist around that one topic. Is there a saturation of freelancers in the market? Will new tax rules make it harder to profit from being freelance? Is working by yourself better for your well-being than being in a team?

Understanding the whole system ensures that your ultimate decision is based on the whole issue, not just the pointy bit that is directed at you and your immediate needs.

When considering how human-centered design can help businesses build resilience against COVID-19 uncertainty, Mika Raulas talks about the importance of understanding the core problem. Whether you want to solve a problem or make better decisions, the same principle applies. Your end decision becomes more sustainable when you take into account the whole.

Tip 2. Consider the other perspectives

Who else is interested in this topic at the heart of this decision and why does it interest them? You’ll be seeing and interpreting the topic from one angle but taking the time to understand other points of view gives you a much fuller picture.

Right now, you have a certain perspective but as you journey down the path that your decision leads you on, it’s pretty likely that your perspective will change and evolve. Someone else, may already be at that point, or have a completely different point of view that makes you consider the whole issue in a different way. Being aware of the different sides to the topic, and understanding why someone thinks that way can save you a lot of effort and surprises.

As an extension of that, take into account the needs of those whom your decision will impact. My blog about how understanding humanness helps you make better decisions goes into this, but essentially a better understanding helps you make better decisions that have the right impact on the people around.

Tip 3: Be ready for change

We’ve all been there – you make a decision based on the information that you have to hand, but then a new factor emerges that shifts everything. My first two tips can help to prepare for issue-related shifts, but big surprises, whether from the macro-environment or somewhere else, will always, always exist. For example, you enroll in a university course to study philosophy, but your partner is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity in another country.

And while you can’t plan for every eventuality, you can build a network that helps you understand and evolve your thinking quickly. Whether this is a team of trusted advisors, a repository of materials, or a platform that does all of the above, being prepared means that you can respond to the issues and make better decisions at pace.

At Hunome, we’ve created a platform that helps our members make better decisions, by allowing them to understand themes holistically, the different perspectives involved and the people who have contributed to them, and real-time evolution of themes. See how Hunome can help you make better decisions by signing up for Hunome today.

Human-centricity is going to hit society in a huge way – WebSummit

in Hunome/by Mika Raulas

We attended a WebSummit like no other in early December, 2020. More than 100,000 attendees from all over the world joined the largest tech event in the world, all online. Despite the occasional patchy connection, the breadth and variety of talks gave plenty of food for thought (and action), and I was encouraged to see one theme in particular emerging across the board.

This idea of human-centricity in the business landscape.

Some of the biggest companies are speaking about human-centricity

“We at Ikea have a big agenda on ethics, sustainability and human-centricity. We need to make the whole societal system human-centric and put humanity the centre. This requires leaders to be curious and step up.” Barbara Martin Coppola, Chief Digital Officer, IKEA

“When Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014, he quickly reset our mission to ‘ empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.’ Every person. People-centric brands start with culture, and as we became people-centric, we moved from a know-it-all culture to learn-it-all culture” Mascha Driessen, Regional VP, Microsoft

“We need to reclaim humanity, what it is to be human. Concepts like sustainability are not enough as a goal for humanity, we need to actively do something to make things better, do good, not just fix what’s broken.” Ruth Andrade, Chief Sustainability Officer, Lush

These are just a few picks of the names that were talking about human-centricity and its impact not only on organizations, but individuals and society as a whole. This idea that we need to move beyond sustainability, to something that puts humanity at the heart of the business is exciting. It moves businesses from just knowing their customers, employees, and other stakeholders to really understanding them as human beings. It enables businesses to understand the real problem that human encounters and offer solutions that have a bigger humanity impact than just one that appeals to a customer in the sales funnel.

Why now for-human centricity?

As Sir Ridley Scott said at a talk about how digital technologies can help reach the UN’s sustainability goals: “Humankind and Earth require intervention. We’re in a crisis state and we need to pull this together to fix the problem. Science fiction is fiction, but we operate in reality. Digital with Purpose is a movement and in race to deliver against the Paris Agreement. Putting humankind at its core.”

Or as Dominique Jaurola, CEO at Hunome puts it:

WebSummit has shown us that human-centricity is important to the likes of IKEA, Microsoft, Lush and many more. We know it’s important to you. This is why we are building Hunome, a collective platform that is set to revolutionize the world’s understanding of humanity.

Launching in 2021, we will connect perspectives and evolve insights to create a better understanding of the world arounds us.

Sign up for Hunome to join the growing number of individuals and businesses who are getting excited about the potential that human-centricity can have to shaping how the world works and should work so that it is human-aware.