HOW DO YOU KNOW?                    

How do people search – or refuse to search – for useful information and ideas?

How do you know what information is trustworthy?   Is it simply a matter of searching and sorting? Bigger decisions require reflections from self and others.

In my work as a physician I became intrigued by how people find the pathway they need to take toward health.  Some people actively search.  Some don’t. Some have the tools and support systems they need to make a change.  Others read the writing on the wall but don’t know how to find their path toward change.

We developed a game, an Information Game, to address the issue.  It was fairly simple – think sandlot baseball.  Several teams of 3-5 people and a panel of judges were randomly picked from the pool of participants.   A Discussion Question was given by a moderator.  Teams went to their corner to plan, then present a response.  Judges picked the winning team and awarded prizes.   If a Question could use more development, teams were re-mixed for the next round.

What is the end point to a series of games?  Depending on the Discussion Question, an end point could be a specific action.  It might be growing the group as a goal in itself, maybe for providing useful feedback to a politician.  If neither of these happen, then drop it and do something else.   Prizes can be small, just enough to engage the mind.  Players and judges can include family and friends, some of whom might have good ideas but otherwise have no skin in the game.

Of course, an outside sponsor can choose the Discussion Question, but if players pitch in with small amounts of money or some other non-monetary prize, they can choose the Discussion Question themselves.   A few games may be played to grow the group size if the Discussion Question is worth carrying forward and developing.

Recently I made a simple power point presentation (see “Info Games 1-Learning Methods”) that could be used to learn foreign languages in high school, a notoriously weak subject area.  With two sons in high school, I was motivated to try something new.  (The Target Learners in the foreign language program are simply a way to test ideas in the real world and not an essential element of Information Games.)

Finding better learning methods for a foreign language is hopefully not a hot political topic, but the method does provide an outline or template for other issues, some of which can be very political: abortion, immigration, financial waste in government, energy waste by local government and businesses managers.  The number of applications is limited only by one’s imagination.

These are all questions around the process of finding useful information.  The real power of this method may be using it to interact with other groups and individuals, giving feedback or eliciting problem-solving behavior in people who may not have the time or resources that are available to us.  I’m thinking here of the opioid crisis in communities that bear that heavy burden.

Bias in the media does not seem to be apparent to those in the media.  We all have our bias, however.  Balancing it is not simply a question of simply giving equal time to people who disagree, but using this tension to push toward some solution. One is tempted to throw combatants into room and see what comes out, but we can’t do that in a democracy.  Yet there are other ways to find those ideas and find something useful without use of coercive force or creating countless new laws.

Smart people with a healthy self-esteem will often push their boss to be a better boss or a parent to be a better parent.  If mainstream media is not going to push President Trump to be a better President, then we may need extra methods for communication and testing and filtering information and ideas.   Here is where an Information Game can be a useful tool.

A few possible starter DQ’s – “How to support Trump when the media are trying to take him down?”; “How do we think clearly through the risks of Corona Virus?”; “How do school kids get some exercise if there is no school?”; “How do students help each other learn the material even better than in class?”

In education, teachers may know the material and have good teaching methods.   On the receiving end however, students must be aware and think through their own learning methods.  What learning method helps them understand and remember material that is essential and make it stick?  An Information Game should not be simply composed of students but include a mix of students, parents, and teachers.  The students may have new ways of looking at the material but it would be unwise to throw away years of experience.   Barbara Oakley’s book “Learning How to Learn” can itself be the object of a game – dissecting, analyzing, and sharing key points.   The same for Cal Newport’s books on how to study.

On an immigration-emigration issue, it is useful to realize that many people leave their home towns in another country do so only when they see no other choice.  What would it take to keep them at home?  This is a multifaceted problem and so requires many solutions, something that leadership in other countries may be unable to provide, especially if their only approach is a top-down, one-size-fits-all.

Players may not know or even care about specific individuals who they don’t know but yet may still have useful ideas.  Some IG groups could mix with locals via the internet to form Cyber Teams. Focus many on the few. Learn from failures.  The lack of face-to-face meetings may initially be a problem for team meetings but players will create ways to make up for that.

Information Games can be efficient.  The purpose is not to get to know or like other players but to discover new information and ideas.  Challenge an outside group – but try to mix the players together.  Much of nature is about competition.  People who love games and sports realize that there is something of value beyond the final score.  What could be better than an Information Game for something to do at home during these Corona days?