There's a beautiful term called "theory of mind" - in short, are you capable of conceptualizing the internal states of others?
Last week, I talked about touching grass and my research talking with everyday strangers in cafes. I got a lot of interest and outreach over this one, especially because on-the-ground technical research is a difficult thing to conduct.
This week, the pattern continued: I asked four more people. One of them, a personal injury lawyer probably no older than me, revealed she doesn't even use Google Drive (or any other cloud storage), let alone AI.
Now, law firms can be historical laggards in adopting technology, so no judgement there - she mentioned her firm even had a typewriter still for manually editing things - and it was still in use. I had to catch myself from derailing the conversation, because I enjoy a nice typewriter and ink ribbons (thanks, Resident Evil), but in a world where you and I might exchange attachments over email or share a nice link to view a document, there exists a reality next door where people don't do that.
She recognized she was the youngest at her firm, as well - a bridge generation to bring new life to old business.
That conversation was particularly reflective: it made me realize that our world, in many places, is not as silver and shiny as one might imagine it to be, even next-door. That our assumptions are prone to being broken at any moment. However...
When I ask people their thoughts, opinions, and behaviour, there's no objective checkbox to punish them or to judge them by. There are things that surveys cannot capture, that calls cannot do - it is capturing the essence of someone in their moment, wholly and completely.
Just as anthropologists study humans, it's worth studying the people around you. Our personal theories of mind are constantly evolving.
I'll be continuing this research, and I might formalize it into a voice series. Let me know what you think.
Also: I have a few inspiring materials for you.
Two of my favorite books are The Mom Test and The Code of Trust (by Robin Dreeke, former head of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis program).
These books demand two simple principles:
Ask questions in such a manner that not even your own mom could lie to you.
Understand people's priorities, thoughts, and opinions in a nonjudgemental manner.
I'd recommend you read these two (and watch that talk by Dreeke). Let me know if you do.
Be well,
Michael Kirsanov