Clearly Subtle

June 8, 2024 Cognitive Insights No Comments

What is subtle may seem clear to one person and unclear to another — as can what is obfuscated to the same individual.

What is genuinely subtle and what merely appears subtle can be very different. See also Subtlety.

As in dancing the tango

A subtle leader and follower may be in harmony. A subtle leader and a blunt follower – or vice versa – may not.

As a leader (or follower), one needs to consider this carefully to avoid break-dance.

As in many life situations

People are generally unaware of how much subtlety goes unnoticed — for instance, in communication.

Fortunately, non-consciously/subconceptually, much more subtlety comes through. This allows communications to unfold intuitively. Some talk about the chemistry between people in specific situations. In reality, there is always a lot of chemistry in the air — good or bad. We consciously ignore it.

There is always a lot of subtlety.

Good life-dancers can navigate this in various ways. This quality is also called empathy.

Too much subtlety in a blunt world may seem obfuscated. For a leader, the life-dance also requires insight into the what-where-how of this.

Wanted: more subtlety

This may be a personal opinion, but I find life much more exciting and meaningful in subtlety.

Considering the meaning crisis, I guess this is also important for many others. Subtlety is related to subconceptual processing, which also gives rise to the feeling of meaningfulness. Therefore, in bluntness, even though life is easier, it’s more challenging to find it meaningful.

Are we socially losing subtlety?

In my view again, yes.

The quick pace of contemporary life makes it more challenging to achieve subtlety, as this often requires time to develop — both chronologically and mentally.

With individual attention being broken into smithereens almost continually, there is no time to avoid wasting it on so-called urgent matters — such as checking how many likes one received or performing administrative tasks that should have been digitalized long ago.

Meanwhile, indeed, subtlety is lost.

Humans are subtle beings.

We are made of and for poetry.

Moreover, the prose is a simulation. In any mind-related matters, it only ‘exists’ by observing things bluntly from afar — not unimportant but certainly not real in the usual sense.

Only poetry can save the world.

Compassionate A.I. can help us harness it and do so.

Open Leadership may guide us.