Mindcare

Mind optimization

My goal in this substack is to transform readers into Thinkers, spelled with a capital T. As such, your primary objective will be to optimize your mind by filling it, to the extent possible, with true and useful beliefs. And how, you might wonder, do you accomplish this?

Your mind-optimization program will have three components:

• A mindcare regimen, in which you take steps to avoid exposing yourself to misinformation

• A mindcleaning regimen, in which you take steps to find and eradicate misinformation that slipped past your critical guard. I hasten to add that mindcleaning is different from brainwashing; indeed, it is a remedy for having been brainwashed.

• A mind-expansion regimen, in which you explore the world around you in search of beliefs that are both true and useful. And at this point, a disclaimer is in order: A Thinker’s mind-expansion regimen needn’t involve the use of “mind-expanding drugs.”

These regimens complement each other. By practicing mindcare, you reduce the number of mistaken beliefs you are exposed to and thereby reduce the number of mistaken beliefs you acquire. By practicing mindcleaning, you reduce the number of mistaken beliefs you hold. And by practicing mind expansion, you increase the number of true beliefs you hold. The idea is that by practicing these three regimens, you increase the number of true beliefs you hold and reduce the number of mistaken beliefs, and thereby make progress toward filling your mind with true and useful beliefs.

In a forthcoming book—about which I will have much more to say in future posts—I describe these regimens in detail. My goal here is simply to introduce them. In this post, I will offer a basic description of mindcare, and in the next two posts, I will do the same for mindcleaning and mind expansion.

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Suppose that while hiking through a forest, you lose your canteen. In your subsequent search for water, it would be wise to avoid puddles on trails—especially those used by animals—since that water is likely to be muddy, as well as contaminated with germs and parasites. A better choice would be a clear-running stream, and even better, water flowing from a spring.

In much the same way, Thinkers will carefully choose their sources of information. They will look for those that are trustworthy and avoid those likely to be tainted by mis- or disinformation. A Thinker knows that whereas drinking polluted water can harm your body, acquiring mistaken beliefs can harm your mind.

Take a moment to reflect on your current sources of information. Where, in particular, do you get your news? Many people get it on the internet, including from TikTok, YouTube, and podcasts. The problem is that the reliability of these sources varies considerably. Not only that, but some of the most easily accessed and entertaining sources will be the least reliable.

Alternatively, people might rely on news-aggregator websites that collect and organize news stories from other sites. They create the impression of providing a balanced rendering of the news, but this might not be the case. It is also possible for an aggregator website to mix real news stories with fabricated stories, which increases the chance that readers will be taken in by fake news.

In their search for news, Thinkers will focus their attention on sources that engage in “shoe-leather journalism.” The resulting stories will have been written by reporters who gathered evidence by going out into the world to answer the basic who, what, when, where, why, and how questions regarding an event. In some cases, this requires them to personally witness an event as well as take pictures and videos of what they saw and heard. It might mean talking to people who had witnessed it, as well as examining relevant documents, photos, videos, and physical evidence. It might also mean consulting with people who have expertise with respect to an event. Furthermore, they would do this research with a skeptical frame of mind. Were the people they interviewed telling the truth? Could their stories be corroborated? Had the photos been altered—or generated by AI?

A Thinker might therefore turn to “legacy media” for news. In the United States, this would include—but not be limited to—The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. What makes these sources noteworthy is their reliance on the sort of shoe-leather journalism I have described. And because Thinkers realize that those in the legacy media are not immune to biases, they might make a point of reading, say, both the slightly-left-leaning Times and the slightly-right-leaning Journal.

Do you get your news from whatever items you come across while surfing the web? Even worse, do you rely on a single “opinion journalism” YouTube channel or podcast? If so, you are, figuratively speaking, drinking water from a dirty puddle. And if you get your news from sites that traffic in conspiracy theories, the puddle in question might contain raccoon scat. Your mind deserves better!