In the modern age, we know more than ever before, and the information has never been so readily available.
And yet individuals and organizations often fail to deliver on the promise of all this knowledge.
In fact, we are often the victim, and the architect, of head-slapping displays of incompetence when it comes to delivering what's been promised, or forgetting routine things that have no business being overlooked.Why is there so often this mismatch between potential and application?
As our knowledge about the world increases, so too does its complexity. And as complexity goes up, so do the opportunities for failure.
Medicine is a great example of where our increased knowledge has made things better, but also more complex, with more possibilities for snafus. Before the mid-20th century, medicine was pretty simple. There wasn't much specialization; when you went to the hospital, there was usually one doctor and a few general nurses overseeing your care.
Now when you go to the hospital, you can have several teams taking care of you. Nurses, nurse technicians, radiologists, dieticians, oncologists, cardiologists, and so on and so forth. All these people have the know-how to deliver top-notch healthcare, and yet studies show that failures are common, most often due to plain old ineptitude. For example, 30% of patients who suffer a stroke receive incomplete or inappropriate care from their doctors, as do 45% of patients with asthma, and 60% of patients with pneumonia.
It's not ignorance or ill-intent that causes these failures. Knowledge abounds among our healthcare practitioners. The problem is that because medicine is more sophisticated and specialized, applying that knowledge correctly across several teams is harder. There are multiple streams of information to remember and manage.
Comment: While practice of mindfulness certainly contains many benefits, it does not eliminate the necessity of emotional processing and work on the self. Using meditation as a tool as a way to avoid reality and the lessons contained within does not get us anywhere.
The Éiriú Eolas breathing/meditation technique, available for free online, is a powerful framework to aid the processing and releasing of "negative" emotions, and helps people to face the reality of themselves and the world without falling into despair.
In addition, detoxing and dietary changes can aid in clarity of thought, and can remove many of the emotional or psychological issues that are actually just faulty brain/gut signalling caused by chronic inflammation.