A630.2.4.RB - 21st Century Enlightenment

After viewing the above video, reflect on the following questions in a well-written post on your Reflection Blog:

• Why do you think the talk is titled 21st Century Enlightenment? 
• What does Matthew Taylor mean when he says "to live differently, you have to think differently"? 
• At one point in the video (4:10), Taylor argues that we need "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange". What is he talking about? Can you think of an example within your company or your life that supports this point? 
• Taylor argues that our society should eschew elements of pop culture that degrade people and that we should spend more time looking into what develops empathetic citizens. Would this be possible? 
• At the end of the video, Taylor talks about atomizing people from collaborative environments and the destructive effect on their growth. What is the implication of these comments for organizational change efforts? 
• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career? 

Once you have reflected upon these questions, list any other questions or insights that have come to you as a result of this exercise.
After reviewing this video, it seems that Taylor believes that most people are copying the path of those who have come before them. We believe there are only a few distinct roads to success. There must, then, also be, particular principles, values, morals, standards on this road. To this, he remarks, “to live differently, you have to think differently.” We should rethink how we see certain perspectives of society The question is: Do I agree? One hundred percent. I say this because I/we live in an evolving world.

Taylor states that "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange". This reminds me of two Malcolm X quotes about truth:

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.

I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against.

Malcolm X was one of the most undervalued sociologists of the 20th century, in that his skill for communicating racial tension and influencing progress were paramount to the success of equality movements for the sixties onward. His impact on critical race theory is likened to W.E.B. DuBois and Angela Davis. X's words are directly in line with Taylor's push for innovative thinking. As leaders, not only should we question what is fed to us as truth from the media and speakers of today; we have to question what is in any book, especially since we are trained to be very critical thinkers Critical thinking is about thinking about the thinking). I think Taylor is being narrow-minded to say not to read a self-help book.

I read them all of the time. Why? I find it interesting to see what other people's definition of success is, and if they truly are successful, I enjoy reading about the road they took to get there. It may not be my road, but it is an inspiration that there is a way to get there. The last three books I read were "How to be a Gentleman", "1001 Ways to Energize Employees", and "25 things to say to your interviewer to get the job you want". All of them talk me important skills on the way that I communicate and how I utilize resources to my benefit (or detriment). Again, I do not have to believe everything I read. Authors have flaws as well. Their ideas can either be positive building blocks for my creative flow or they can be mental challenges in which to spar. 

Some things I took from Taylor's video:

• There is no limit to expanding empathy towards others.
• We need to resist our tendencies to follow the norm.
• Enlightenment does not happen in a bubble.