TELLER IS KIND OF A GENIUS by Rockin’ Eco Hero – Steve Trash
Personal confession here … podcasts are very, very popular, but I just don’t like them.
I participate in them when asked to be a guest and do my best to answer truthfully. I try to bring some humor, wisdom and entertainment to them, but I don’t personally listen to them very much.
I have LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of friends that do, however.
I even have friends that produce podcasts that are very, very good.
And I totally respect them and the product they create, but for me – personally – it’s not my cup of tea.
I don’t enjoy listening to them and I don’t like talk radio either for the exact same reason.
Both tend to be non-experts, claiming to be experts, sharing faux wisdom about stuff.
I’m just not into that.
That’s because, as a professional magician and amateur social psychologist, I’m keenly aware that our minds are like super-computers and there is an old saying in the computer programming world: GIGO. Garbage In – Garbage Out.
Basically, if the information going into your brain-hole is faulty, factually inaccurate, not vetted by experts, one sided, slanted to your own personal bias, or not provided by a knowledgeable source – from a knowledgeable source, that’s EXACTLY the information that’s gonna come out of your brain-hole.
GIGO. Garbage In – Garbage Out.
If I am going to watch or listen to something, I’d like it to be vetted.
I simply prefer to listen to experts.
I’ve learned stuff about being a professional entertainer over the course of 40 years by making tons of mistakes, trying to get better, and continually focusing on improvement. In this area, I’m an expert.
I trust there are other people in the world like me. I trust that THEY are experts in their fields. I trust that they understand social psychology better than me. I trust that they understand epidemiology better than me. I trust that they understand history better than me. I trust that they understand how to be an educator better than me. And I also trust that there are entertainers that understand how to be an entertainer better than me.
Now, I don’t really like watching YouTube videos or Reddit or other similar social media feeds. Notice the word “feed”? Your mind is ingesting that information. They “feel” like a silly waste of time. They are simply GIGO to me.
And to me, talk radio is the worst kind of GIGO.
The hosts have no expertise AND most important of all, they are required to fill hours and hours and hours each day with talking.
It’s tough to fill hours and hours with wisdom. Most of what they say will just be garbage.
I just don’t like listening to people jabber on and on and on. They are expressing one viewpoint and hammering and hammering and hammering that viewpoint without allowing any countervailing points to be heard. When they do allow this, my experience has been they only allow stupid people to contribute. So, in essence, they are STILL saying exactly the same thing.
“Oh yeah… only stupid people disagree with us.” This isn’t really wisdom, it’s propaganda. GIGO.
So, I try to shoot for WIKO. Wisdom In – Wisdom Out.
Of course, I’m limited by time, access, and most of all, my mental capabilities.
But my feeling is that I improve my odds of “good stuff” coming out of me because I’m careful about the stuff that goes in.
I try to read good books. I research subjects that are written by experts in their fields. I look for the wise, rather than the sensational.
I enjoy listening to audiobooks and apply the wisdom criteria. That is, I’m looking for wisdom, not sensationalism. The authors have taken the time to get (what they believe to be) the facts straight and I can track down references and sources for the facts they may share.
I enjoy TED talks too and have recently become a fan of MASTERCLASS.
Real experts share knowledge they’ve learned in their fields.
I’ve watched and listened to Ron Howard discuss directing TV and Movies. I’ve watched and listened to Will Wright (creator of the videogame, SimCity) discuss game theory, video game concepts, the way people are drawn to game play.
I’ve also just made my way through the entire Penn & Teller Magic Masterclass.
I saw P&T Off-Broadway in the 1980’s. It was a really small theatre and they were the best thing I’d ever seen on a stage. My interest in them has followed their rise to stardom. They bring something amazing to the entertainment world. They are a bit too cynical for my taste, but I can disagree with you and still respect your intelligence, your knowledge and your expertise.
For me, that’s where P&T fit.
I disagree with them on a lot of stuff, but not on their ability to understand the psychology of performing magic or their wisdom about entertainment and stage life, or making a career in show business.
Teller is kind of a genius.
Having made my way through the entire P&T MASTERCLASS on Magic, I’m about to start over because I simply couldn’t take notes fast enough.
The wisdom T was dropping had me scribbling as fast as my pen could scribble. Even running the video segments over and over, I’d just sit there and think about the ideas he was sharing.
It was wisdom in – and I hope – wisdom will come out.
Consider filtering the ideas that come into your life.
Consider being selective about your social media “feed”.
Consider turning off the radio and reading a book or watching a Ted Talk or actually talking to someone you love.
Consider listening to a book rather than listening to a podcast or taking a Masterclass.
I do this often.
I believe it helps me be a better person.
I’m shooting for Wisdom In – so Wisdom can come out.
This might just work for you too, so please consider it.
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