Bob was an extrovert growing up with jobs selling shoes and appearing on the radio. He was also very bright. He originally planned to be a comedian but chose to study medicine instead and specialize in cardiology.
Not one who enjoyed working for others, he created his own private practice. But he wasn’t successful. He began to put on weight and that led to depression. He began to review medical journals to help him lose weight and decided to pursue a plan that had promise.
He lost 50 pounds in four weeks and stumbled upon a new career. He began to take on corporate clients with a focus on executive health, especially weight management. His diet plan was a success, and he decided to publish a book.
His publisher would not allow him to include any reference material in the book so that it wouldn’t detract from the book’s mass appeal. The book became the best-selling diet book in the history of publishing at that time.
One reason for the book’s appeal was that it had one simple rule: NO CARBS. A more moderate approach to carbohydrate management was thought to be too complicated. What Bob discovered was the power of binary thinking.
Binary thinking is one where the world is separated into two choices: one good and one bad. The Atkins Diet, named after its founder Robert Atkins, was based on binary thinking. It was simple to follow. It did lead to weight loss, but the lack of carbohydrates can cause other health effects.
Binary thinking is the tool of despots who can develop cult followers with simple good/bad perspectives on life. In a world where there are few all-good or all-bad choices, it’s surprising that so many people are still duped by binary thinking.
Unfortunately, binary thinking has become the tool of many of those who have become our national leaders in all three branches of government. Almost every issue of national importance is warped by those who only believe in either/or thinking. We have even given silly names to these binary choices which are nonsensical inventions of those who discourage thought and want to replace thought with visceral reactions.
Just imagine what it will take for a society to have a citizenry that sees possibilities along a spectrum not as a binary choice. That will require national leaders to be educators rather than all-or-nothing warriors. Have we gone beyond a point in our nation’s history where that is no longer possible?
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“Binary thinking is (mostly) bad.” – Unknown