The importance of being curious:

A note on mordern day journalist:

For the purpose of a better comprehension of what I am about to write, I’d like to begin by

sharing a passage from the introduction to the novel ‘Meetings with Remarkable Men’ by the

beloved author and philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff. In the novel, he discusses the way in which

our literature has evolved over time, changes including the way in which it is received, the

way in which it is formatted, and most importantly the changes in its desired purpose.

On journalism, he writes, “the requirements of contemporary civilization have engendered

yet another quite specific form of literature called ‘journalism’… it offers nothing whatsoever

for the development of the of the mind, it has, from my point of view, become the

fundamental evil in the life of people today because of the poisonous influence it exerts on

their mutual relations.”

“To our common misfortune, this journalistic literature, which is becoming more widespread

in the life of people year by year, weakens the already weakened mind of man still more by

laying it open without resistance to all kinds of deceit and delusion, and leads it astray from

relatively well-found thinking, thus stimulating in people, instead of sane judgement, various

unworthy properties such as incredulity, indignation, fear, false shame, hypocrisy, pride and

so on and so forth.”

Though written a whole century ago, in our 21 st century Gurdjieff’s words bear an even

greater significance. How many times have we each fallen victim to idleness in our taking in

of a headline or report at face value, without giving any time or thought to the intended effect

of the source, without even knowing the most minor details about who the writer of our

source is. To quote Gurdjieff, “the public never knows who is writing; it only knows the paper

itself, which always belongs to a group of experienced businessmen.”

The consequences of the technological revolution, and the sustained capitalization of our

accredited sources of information have been cataclysmic for our critical thinking, individual

thought and personal development. Our complete reliance on what we read on our mobile

devices for the foregrounding our politics, our culture, our identity, is one of the greatest

tragedies of our time. As a society we have only become increasingly suscept to the

manipulation and control of who controls our media. I have tried to remain without putting a

political angle on this piece, as I believe both the left and right are equally guilty in their

taking advantage of this. Politics of all kinds have been forced to whittle under the influence

of the media dictator. As Milan Kundera writes in his 1988 novel ‘Immortality’, “the politician

is reliant on the journalist… as the journalist is reliant on those who pay them.”

So with what do I remedy this illness. Please, for the love of yourself, continue to be curious.

Why should it take for us to read an article online to find out what is going on within our

communities. Walk the streets. Our economy is “on the up”, yet every town center is rife with

homelessness and unemployment. “Inflation is down”, yet our cost of living is still far dearer

than in any of the other major powers in Europe.

Educate yourself. Our libraries and bookshops possess within them hundreds of years of

information and knowledge and yet the furthest you will stretch for a source is what someone

says on Instagram or Tik Tok. Look towards independent media. Real lives, real stories, real

people. Flesh and bone. Find out for yourself. Don’t rely on what the man in the suit wantsyou to hear. With that I leave you to formation of your own individuality. “Act in life as your conscience bids you.” Do not factor in anything else.

Written by Luke Neillis