Another Barry Schwartz TED Talk

And it's even better than the last one I posted. Schwartz talks about how bureaucracy has taken the place that practical wisdom used to be, how red tape, rules and regulations are increasingly being depended on instead of good old-fashioned common sense. More importantly, how rules and incentives, so often relied upon in professional and personal situations, are actually not helping us, but crippling our intellectual capacity and wisdom.

"Doing the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons" is what he is exhorting. It reminded me of the speech given by Bro Paul back at the SJI Class of '94 10-Year Reunion, where he said "the world needs men of integrity, but is also quick to cast them aside", and reminded us that doing the right thing is a responsibility that we have all learned and to depend on that. This could be the antidote to the apathy and cynicism that engulfs our world, and even if it isn't, it bears repeating if only to tell ourselves rules and incentives could only do so much.

Go ahead and watch the video; along with the last one it's possibly the best 40 minutes I've spent online in a long while. I might even buy the guy's book.