Translator: Leonardo Silva Reviewer: Mile Živković
We live in a world where we’re continually grouped and categorized.
Just think about the boxes that you check before you take the PSAT.
From race to geography, to age, we are grouped.
It’s not just society that labels and groups people.
It can also be family members, teachers, coaches, or even oneself.
And I think people are aware of how often labeling and grouping happens,
but what I don’t think we’re as aware of is how this happens.
For many years, people have been labeled into groups that are opposite extremes.
Think about how you have been labeled.
Maybe as the athletic one in your family, or someone who is a math person.
Or maybe something not as positive, such as spoiled.
Rarely is someone ever labeled as being just okay at math,
or a mediocre athlete.
People tend to be labeled in what I call binaries.
For instance, people see and label themselves
as either shy or outgoing, smart or dumb,
a Republican or a Democrat, or a girl or a boy.
Not only do people label themselves and others in banaries.
People think about issues and answers in binaries as well.
There is a right and a wrong, good and bad, and yes and no.
There is no in-between.
Our generation is dismantling this binary way of thinking.
Categories and labels our parents once thought were concrete and oppositional
are now being seen as more of a spectrum,
in contexts such as, like, gender, sexuality and even intelligence.
But there’s still more progress to be made,
and I think by realizing the cost of thinking this way,
we’re able to move forward.
It’s important to acknowledge, though,
that thinking in binaries is an inherent and fundamental trait in people.
Even decisions that people make on a daily basis,
they devide into dichotomies,
such as, “Should I go to gym today, or not?,”
“Should I take the job, or not?”
It’s hard to think of a time where people have not categorized ideas
in a dualistic way.
There’s night and day, good and evil, man and woman, and heaven and hell.
While this binary way of thinking may be useful and unavoidable
in some circumstances,
in others, especially when it comes to thinking about people and issues,
it can be harmful.
With this way of thinking, there’s no spectrum, no gray area,
and most importantly, there’s no common ground.
Many people fall somewhere in the gray area,
and identifying someone as an extreme, which binary thinking invites,
is often inaccurate.
It can also harm how we interact and work with each other.
Think about the last US election
and how people would align themselves with the most opposite extremes.
The idea of commonality was lost.
This has real consequences for the factors of our country.
In a world where people feel forced
to take on one opposite identity or another,
it is harder to negotiate.
Alan Weisman, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University,
studied what makes effective legislators.
What he found was that the legislators that were most effective
were the ones most willing to find common ground.
The people who were able to disregard their identity
as a Republican or a Democrat
and focused on the issues and problems at hand did a better job.
We need to continue to move beyond binary thinking,
for ourselves and for working together.
So, what are the steps that we can take to accomplish this?
I think this is a hard question.
The first step is to recognize binaries in your own thinking,
to reflect on what ways you’ve been defining yourself, others and issues
in oppositional terms.
The second step is to realize binaries are often inaccurate and unproductive.
They don’t do a good job explaining who you are or what others are.
When you do this, it opens the door to seeing yourself, others and issues
on many dimensions and spectrums.
A great example is how our generation has redefined the way we think about gender
as more of a spectrum,
and we need to carry this momentum and approach to other parts of our lives.
My hope for our school and for our generation
is that we don’t feel limited or confined by binary labels,
and continue trying to see each other for who we really are.
Thank you.
(Applause)
We live in a world where we’re continually grouped and categorized.
Just think about the boxes that you check before you take the PSAT.
From race to geography, to age, we are grouped.
It’s not just society that labels and groups people.
It can also be family members, teachers, coaches, or even oneself.
And I think people are aware of how often labeling and grouping happens,
but what I don’t think we’re as aware of is how this happens.
For many years, people have been labeled into groups that are opposite extremes.
Think about how you have been labeled.
Maybe as the athletic one in your family, or someone who is a math person.
Or maybe something not as positive, such as spoiled.
Rarely is someone ever labeled as being just okay at math,
or a mediocre athlete.
People tend to be labeled in what I call binaries.
For instance, people see and label themselves
as either shy or outgoing, smart or dumb,
a Republican or a Democrat, or a girl or a boy.
Not only do people label themselves and others in banaries.
People think about issues and answers in binaries as well.
There is a right and a wrong, good and bad, and yes and no.
There is no in-between.
Our generation is dismantling this binary way of thinking.
Categories and labels our parents once thought were concrete and oppositional
are now being seen as more of a spectrum,
in contexts such as, like, gender, sexuality and even intelligence.
But there’s still more progress to be made,
and I think by realizing the cost of thinking this way,
we’re able to move forward.
It’s important to acknowledge, though,
that thinking in binaries is an inherent and fundamental trait in people.
Even decisions that people make on a daily basis,
they devide into dichotomies,
such as, “Should I go to gym today, or not?,”
“Should I take the job, or not?”
It’s hard to think of a time where people have not categorized ideas
in a dualistic way.
There’s night and day, good and evil, man and woman, and heaven and hell.
While this binary way of thinking may be useful and unavoidable
in some circumstances,
in others, especially when it comes to thinking about people and issues,
it can be harmful.
With this way of thinking, there’s no spectrum, no gray area,
and most importantly, there’s no common ground.
Many people fall somewhere in the gray area,
and identifying someone as an extreme, which binary thinking invites,
is often inaccurate.
It can also harm how we interact and work with each other.
Think about the last US election
and how people would align themselves with the most opposite extremes.
The idea of commonality was lost.
This has real consequences for the factors of our country.
In a world where people feel forced
to take on one opposite identity or another,
it is harder to negotiate.
Alan Weisman, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University,
studied what makes effective legislators.
What he found was that the legislators that were most effective
were the ones most willing to find common ground.
The people who were able to disregard their identity
as a Republican or a Democrat
and focused on the issues and problems at hand did a better job.
We need to continue to move beyond binary thinking,
for ourselves and for working together.
So, what are the steps that we can take to accomplish this?
I think this is a hard question.
The first step is to recognize binaries in your own thinking,
to reflect on what ways you’ve been defining yourself, others and issues
in oppositional terms.
The second step is to realize binaries are often inaccurate and unproductive.
They don’t do a good job explaining who you are or what others are.
When you do this, it opens the door to seeing yourself, others and issues
on many dimensions and spectrums.
A great example is how our generation has redefined the way we think about gender
as more of a spectrum,
and we need to carry this momentum and approach to other parts of our lives.
My hope for our school and for our generation
is that we don’t feel limited or confined by binary labels,
and continue trying to see each other for who we really are.
Thank you.
(Applause)
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