The Decode Diary Ray Low

Towards the end of the conversation, I can tell Jared is an optimistic man considering most of the topics we discussed were indicating to an extent that human wouldn't be able to survive far into the next century. He suggested replacement questions and statements, one of which I like a lot - Ideas and cultures are probably symbiotes instead of parasites.

I raised the question of whether ideas and cultures travel from host to host, sucking energy for their own benefits. For context, if a dangerous social media trend sweeps the planet, we are probably doomed. But one reason we haven't seen that become true is because we are self-conscious beings that know how to reject suggestions of ideas. Instead, we know how to benefit from ideas and cultures, fostering a symbiotic relationship.

Listen to the full conversation here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/65lAitiZjzEB91RE9W1EJi?si=K0mNvDhBRJ-182Aw_lJgGw

From the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah, he described the long process of human evolution where we used to hunt in groups. Then, we slowly turned to agriculture because of the ease of storage of wheat. Agriculture means we start working for our own food and care less about the herd.



I think our current point in time is a point where we are vastly segregated by invisible walls called economics and politics. We are probably more selfish than ever, considering whatever we do today helps us build our gates and walls some places call flats and apartments. We may not look like we are selfish on the outside because we are all working towards a single goal or something along that line. Maybe we aren't that selfish after all?



Listen to the full conversation here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/65lAitiZjzEB91RE9W1EJi?si=K0mNvDhBRJ-182Aw_lJgGw

I've always wondered how things change over time. Like the stock market, the world economy, global political leadership or even my own behavior, I think of them in a line graph. There are many indicators and legends that we can give to make the graph a richer one, but the conversation with Jared was fascinatingly catered for me when we talked about morality and how it has changed over the entire human history.



Jared studied philosophy in evolution and objectivity in moral norms, a subject not many would do. To sit and think and talk is something I would want to do though. But that wasn't just it. Sitting with Jared means your beliefs will probably be solidified and strengthened, but you start asking yourself questions actually.



Listen to the full conversation here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/65lAitiZjzEB91RE9W1EJi?si=K0mNvDhBRJ-182Aw_lJgGw

I needed to look up the terms “evolution” and “objectivity in moral norms” when I learnt that this was the degree Jared underwent in the U.S. and I knew nothing about them. It turns out I had done a little bit of reading on these topics and you must believe me when I say I had a ton of fun just thinking about all these questions. None of us had the answers though. The fun part was challenging our beliefs and I realized some beliefs felt immensely strong walking away from this conversation. It felt good.



If you were to ask yourself what is “right” and “wrong” and contrast them with “good” and “bad”, which do you think would be a better descriptor of an event or a person? Sure, I argued that it comes down to context, but I think it’s how each of us view the matter and whether or not there is a next step moving forward. An action could be wrong and it may lead to punishments etc, but if it is bad, we may prefer to take some actions to turn things around. Like Jared says, viewing things on a spectrum like good and bad puts us on the middle ground for us to clearly define the next set of actions. 



Enjoyed every single bit of it. 



Timeline:

[00:00] What does he do

[08:36] A degree in philosophy in evolution and objectivity in moral norms

[10:51] What is right and what is wrong?

[15:06] How does evolution affect our morality?

[18:58] What about cultures that were once less favorable to human survival?

[24:20] Morality in animals

[25:54] How do cultures or moral norms travel?

[28:22] Impact of social media on our morality

[32:05] How the current moral behaviors or cultures affect our survival rate

[36:00] Are we becoming more selfish as a species?

[45:11] Overthrowing a belief

[50:27] Ideas and cultures are parasites

[01:02:21] What do we want to want?

[01:10:38] His idea for young people


Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

When I told Ganesha the property an agent was selling me, he helped me analyze it and gave his opinions on whether this was a good property. It wasn't about making a decision that day, but more on learning the process to analyze and determine if a property is worth what it was advertised.

In this snippet, Ganesha shared with me his thought process and I think I could do an entire episode sifting through properties together.

Listen to the full conversation: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LC0rfUXQZG2Hr5FkBbvTW?si=M_-2PhhZSYmCItS7NzJSKw

When it comes to renting out your units, I think the lesson here is that we have to strike a balance between profit and marketing. Sure we can save a ton by not renovating but if it does not provide enough comfort for tenants, that is bad marketing over the long term and eventually it will hurt profitability really bad.

My take on this one is to invest in renovation such that it turns out to be ideal for tenants to pay you a decent rent.

Listen to the full conversation: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LC0rfUXQZG2Hr5FkBbvTW?si=M_-2PhhZSYmCItS7NzJSKw