Happy 4th of July: Think Independently!

Every 4th of July I like to reflect on what it means to be independent. Today I wrote nearly an entire post on production independence, starting with energy independence. But I have decided to post that another day because there is a different type of independence that I have decided is more important at this particular moment in time: independent thinking.

It has never been easy to be an independent thinker but it has become considerably more difficult in our always online, always connected world. There are several reasons for this. First, we are surrounded by suggestion algorithms that drive us ever deeper into clusters. One really has to make a strong conscious effort to follow people of different views, or one will not see those views as at all. I have long argued for what I called the “Opposing View Reader” and would happily use that if it were available as a product. In the meantime, I have added people to my Twitter feed who I strongly disagree with on almost everything.

Second, whatever we post ourselves is scrutinized and deviation from what the bulk of one’s followers think takes an extra level of conviction. So often people will stay silent on a topic rather than express their opinion for fear of having to deal with an online backlash. And of course when one does post something there are also the other type of comment (mostly from non-followers) that tries to for “guilt by association” through throwing out a label such as “liberal” or “racist” instead of engaging with the substance of the comment.

Third, with more and more time spent online, people are suffering from loneliness. And unlike IRL, where people can get to know you over time in your fullness, online we tend to have just a relatively narrow representation of ourselves. So the pressure to conform to a group and its views is growing for fear of being excluded and feeling even more lonely. Having strong real world friendships is one good antidote to that. Not giving a shit is another.

In the early days of Union Square Ventures we were often asked if we could be successful being in New York and not in Silicon Valley. Our answer was that we prefer to think independently and that’s a lot easier when you are somewhat geographically separate. It is also the reason we spend very little time with other investors, rarely going to VC conferences. It turns out that independent thinking is extremely powerful when it comes to investing (likely also one of the reasons for Warren Buffet’s success, although I have been meaning to write a post about how I think he’s a hypocrite).

So on this 4th, maybe take a few minutes to add people you strongly disagree with to your feeds. This is a great first step towards thinking independently. As a second step set aside time, ideally every week, to query which of your beliefs are ones you have spent time considering independently and which ones have you adopted simply by virtue of being part of a group. For inspiration on independent thinking I suggest following Aella, who recently had a good thread on how challenging it can be.

Happy 4th of July! And happy independent thinking!