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"Curiosity" - Brent Giannotta
Brent is a Los Angeles native who, inspired by 9/11, got fluent in Arabic, earned a grad degree in Egypt, and then worked as a CIA counterterrorism analyst from 2010 to 2015. His work included tracking ISIS external operators and extremist psychology. He also recently published an LA Times op-ed comparing radicalization trends between ISIS foreign fighters and US political conspiracy theorists. This all made for a really interesting backdrop for our conversation. Brent is someone who has seen the ugliest aspects of human nature first hand, he has extensively studied the psychology behind this ugliness, and he has thought a lot about what it tells us about human nature and our future.
Brent's most important value was "curiosity" because through all of his work and research, he has found that being curious is the thing that allows us to connect with other human beings on a genuine level, rather than being controlled by fear or tribalism. This is especially important today when the media and digital technology seems to be designed explicitly to use fear to exploit our reptilian brain. But if we can be curious and try to better understand the source of our fear and the true nature of the "other" person/group, it gives us a chance for a better outcome. This is not meant to be an idealistic state, where everyone loves everyone and agrees all the time. Our cultures, experiences, and genetics (among other things) will always lead us to see the world differently from one another--and that is OK. The goal is to be curious about those differences rather than fearful of them.
We rounded out the discussion talking about the human need to be a part of a group. Brent believes that often, whether it be a religious group, terrorist group, political group, or what have you, we choose to align with these groups because of what we stand to gain rather than because we actually believe what they stand for. That need to be a part of group is deeply embedded in our coding from the time of early humans, which again speaks to the point that we need to be actively curious at all times so that we can address these primal thought processes when ever they arise.
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Brent is a Los Angeles native who, inspired by 9/11, got fluent in Arabic, earned a grad degree in Egypt, and then worked as a CIA counterterrorism analyst from 2010 to 2015. His work included tracking ISIS external operators and extremist psychology. He also recently published an LA Times op-ed comparing radicalization trends between ISIS foreign fighters and US political conspiracy theorists. This all made for a really interesting backdrop for our conversation. Brent is someone who has seen the ugliest aspects of human nature first hand, he has extensively studied the psychology behind this ugliness, and he has thought a lot about what it tells us about human nature and our future.
Brent's most important value was "curiosity" because through all of his work and research, he has found that being curious is the thing that allows us to connect with other human beings on a genuine level, rather than being controlled by fear or tribalism. This is especially important today when the media and digital technology seems to be designed explicitly to use fear to exploit our reptilian brain. But if we can be curious and try to better understand the source of our fear and the true nature of the "other" person/group, it gives us a chance for a better outcome. This is not meant to be an idealistic state, where everyone loves everyone and agrees all the time. Our cultures, experiences, and genetics (among other things) will always lead us to see the world differently from one another--and that is OK. The goal is to be curious about those differences rather than fearful of them.
We rounded out the discussion talking about the human need to be a part of a group. Brent believes that often, whether it be a religious group, terrorist group, political group, or what have you, we choose to align with these groups because of what we stand to gain rather than because we actually believe what they stand for. That need to be a part of group is deeply embedded in our coding from the time of early humans, which again speaks to the point that we need to be actively curious at all times so that we can address these primal thought processes when ever they arise.