I believe in vaccination and in evolution. Yet, millions of intelligent people don’t share these beliefs with me. Despite decades of scientific progress, they believe neither in vaccines nor in evolution.
Our understanding of the world is mostly shaped by what we see – that’s why we call it our world view. We say ‘seeing is believing’. We don’t say ‘hearing is believing’ or ‘reading is believing’. Yet, I cannot see a vaccine do its work, nor can I see birds evolving from dinosaurs.
Despite not being able to see these phenomenon, I am able to visualize them. When a vaccine is injected, I can visualize the antibodies my body creates. I am also able to visualize how, through thousands of generations, some dinosaurs grew feathers, became smaller, hollowed out their bones, warmed their blood and took flight.
As changemakers, we need to get the people around us to believe in a number of abstractions – our vision, our business plan, our values, our cause. To have them believe in these things, we need to help them visualize them.
Inspiration: Seth Godin
Observations 