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How You Can Become Experience-Rich
by Jesse L. Yoder
|
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According to the philosophy of Viewpoint
Pluralism, the more points of view or angles you see something
from, the better you understand it. Here are some practical applications of Viewpoint
Pluralism.
1. When you are studying a subject, find out
what people from different perspectives have to say about it. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, pick up two or three
different articles or books about the subject, and see what you can learn from each.
If you are interested in a consumer product such as a car, try to understand the
customer's perspective as well as the manufacturer's view. If you can find a neutral
third party, such as a testing or evaluating agency, so much the better. And don't
get all your news from one source--each newsgathering organization has its own perspective.
2. Incorporate
new experiences into your own life. New experiences
increase our knowledge and broaden our horizons by giving us new points of view.
New experiences provide enjoyment and pleasure we would not otherwise have, and enhance
our mental skills. Here are some examples of new experiences worth trying:
- Have lunch or dinner at a new restaurant you haven't
tried, or one offering a kind of food you've never had.
- Take a new route to or from work.
- When shopping, select a new fruit, meat, or other
food you have never had before to have the experience of eating it. Incorporate this
idea into your regular shopping trips.
- Have a new experience every day.
3. Start
noticing differences in shades of color and in shades of experience. There are many areas of experience in which we use a single
word to describe a whole range of different phenomena. For example, there are many
different shades of the color green, yet we use the same word 'green' to refer to
all of them. This serves a purpose, of course, but it also may make us unaware of
shades of color. Spring is a great time to be aware of the different shades of green,
with trees and plants coming back to life.
There are many varieties in other shades of
color too, such as blue and red. When you look at a color, try to be aware not only
of the color, but also of the shade. Being aware of a name for the shade, such as
"lime green" or "lemon yellow," will fix it better in your mind.
There are "shades of experience" in other areas besides color. Another example is taste.
There are many different tastes corresponding to the words "sweet" and
"sour." By being aware of these different shades of experience, and thinking
of different words to distinguish them, you will enrich your own experience and also
improve your memory. You will become "experience-rich."
Of course, not all new experiences are good, and sometimes there are strong reasons
not to have a particular new experience. Some new experiences are dangerous, while
some are simply undesirable. The "new experience" idea can be summed up
as follows:
Seek out new experiences for their own sake, unless there is a stronger reason not
to have a particular new experience.
Click here, for a proof of Viewpoint Pluralism.
Click here for an explanation of Viewpoint Pluralism and how it applies to industrial
market research.
Click
here to submit comments, suggestions, or ideas to Flow Research.
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