The Wisdom Pyramid

On Sunday, April 18, I’ll begin a sermon series, “Truth Be Told:  Following Jesus in a World of Spin and Lies.”  See here for details.

In preparation, I read Brett McCracken’s terrific new book, The Wisdom Pyramid:  Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World. “Our world has more and more information, but less and less wisdom.  More data; less clarity.  More stimulation; less synthesis.  More distrac­tion; less stillness... We have vertigo from the barrage coming at us from every direction, every day” (p. 11).  And Covid-19 has exacerbated the problem of a society “driven more by rage than reality, more by fear than facts” (p. 13).  Which leaves us in an “epistemological crisis”:  what can we really be sure of? (p. 12).

McCracken proposes “that we need a better diet of knowledge and better habits of information intake” (p. 12).  So he takes the model of the food pyramid and translates it for our information consumption.  It’s not a quick fix; wisdom isn’t fast food.  But it is our urgent need here on the frontiers of the digital wild west.

Three habits are “making us sick”:  1) Eating too much—and in the flurry of information overload we tend to veer toward the digital junk food.  2) Eating too fast. “The internet is the medium of now” (p. 19).  No time for critical thinking.  Gotta weigh in on that social media meme right away.  3) Eating only what tastes good to me.  Remember:  the digital universe revolves around you. It’s all tailored to give you that instant buzz that keeps you clicking.

In such a world, we need to use discipline and take in “nutrition” from the right sources in proper proportions.  Bible first—let nothing dislodge God’s Word as your foundation.  Next is church life—active involvement with the body of Christ.  Time in nature comes next—to wonder at God and his creative genius.  Then it’s books (old and new, to help us think).  And beauty (i.e., the arts).  And finally that little triangle at the top of the pyramid:  the internet and social media (like sweets—keep it to a minimum).