Ning-Jia.com

Recently, I’ve been reading about populism and its effects on communities. As a social psychology enthusiast, it always amazes me how the crowd can bring out either the best or the worst in people. And when you’re in that crowd, it’s not easy to maintain the awareness to realise what the crowd is doing to you. Its effects in politics can generate a momentum that pushes opinions toward the extreme. Most academics agree that this is not healthy in the long term and can distract from what is actually important. A recent video by Joeri Schasfoort, the YouTuber behind Money & Macro, listed four mainstream explanations for this trend: Social media polarisation Economic disenchantment Cultural disconnect and representation gap Rise in racism Interestingly, he quickly dismissed the fourth reason—racism. It’s a relief to think we’re not heading toward total societal collapse simply because we’ve started hating one another so intensely. But the other three factors offer very real lessons for...

Do we seek the best driving advice from a 60-year-old who has been driving for 40 years? Or from an F1 champion who has won multiple championships? Or from a driving instructor who has spent 10 years deliberately helping others improve? Casual experience — simply racking up decades behind the wheel — doesn’t mean much. Even expert performance, by itself, doesn’t automatically translate into wisdom worth following. What truly counts is instructional experience: the refined ability to diagnose errors, break down tacit knowledge, and guide others through deliberate practice. Most of what a long-time driver “knows” is tacit — intuitive, embodied, and hard to articulate (as Michael Polanyi described). An F1 champion has elite pattern recognition and deliberate practice under pressure, but that doesn’t guarantee they can unpack their skill for a beginner. The instructor who has spent years reflecting on how people actually learn, adjusting their methods, and producing measurable improvement ...