On tilting one's head

[flamingsword]

Why don't we look up?

We know that being able to see trees and the sky improves mental health. We know that with the larger number of buildings and homes in the urban landscape that we have to tilt our heads a bit to see that, reassuringly, the sky is still there.

It's not hard. But we don't do it.

Why?

Comments

[ot_atma]

my money's on "broken socialization". We never learn to value it. The evidence is rationally persuasive but, sadly, it takes more than that for most folks to actually be persuaded.

[flamingsword]

I may have to start some sort of low-key social movement or behavioral meme. Want to help make fetch happen?

...it's not going to happen.

[ot_atma]

Maybe? What would that entail in this case?

Game design has a few places that might be useful springboards to start from, because solving the problem of "get people to look up" in praxis is old chestnut to them.

Getting people to -want- to look up might be related. Or maybe you're approaching it from the other end, idk. There were some comments about safety on your facebook reposting that are germane here.

Re: ...it's not going to happen.

[flamingsword]

Okay, so lets say I start a side blog of random habits that people could get into that cost nothing and are good for mental health. Tumblr loves that shit, so we could get submissions, even. If we did a graphic post of trees and the sky that had information about the health benefits of looking up, with a text post beneath it talking about ways to make it as safe and easy for people with anxiety as possible, that would start the ball rolling.

Tumblr is something we have access to, macros are something we understand, and we can leverage that understanding.

What are other ways to go about this?

Re: ...it's not going to happen.

[ot_atma]

I've been thinking about it and this tumblr seems like a pretty good idea IF you tweak your ratios: post about three or four gorgeous desktop-quality skyscapes for every one rational posting explaining why the audience should be looking for more.

Post the studies too. Or at least punchy, readable, maybe even funny summaries in the 1000-2000 word range.

Talk to media creators as possible. Make sure lots of shows, movies, novels, webcomics, etc depict characters of every gender, alignment, race, and creed taking a moment to contemplate the heavens above us. Representation, you know.

I can't overemphasize how much more effective I think tradition, culture, and storytelling would be for evoking this behavior (or any behavior rly) over pure rational discussion. Even if rationality was as effective, it would be traceable to a seismic cultural shift favoring rationality overall.

"My money's on the witch."

[rens_sanctuary]

Or, Spike the vampire is scary. So's Angelus.

Or, I don't look up when outside because I don't know if people safe. So I avoid looking up, and meeting others' gazes, because safety! Yeah, that's hard to break away from.

Looking up at the sky is something I do when I'm safe. Dunno why.

Re: "My money's on the witch."

[flamingsword]

Okay, THAT is actually a decent reason, and not one that I reflexively consider, since I am scary. This will have to be accounted for in the planning behind the memetic mental health virus.

Re: "My money's on the witch."

[rens_sanctuary]

Glad I can help. :) How does one become scary? Or at least "don't bother me"? I'd like to be less afraid of people I meet walking. Small towns don't teach you that.

Re: "My money's on the witch."

[flamingsword]

I have replied to this in the form of a post, since the answer got a bit long.