The differences are at the 5% level. That’s pretty good.

~ Live & Learn

Craig Newmark

What surprises me, in a way, is how almost universally people are trustworthy and good. There are problems, and sometimes people bicker, which is a pain in the ass, but people are good. No matter what your religious background, we share pretty much the same values. There are some minor differences that we disagree on, but the differences are at the 5 percent level. That’s pretty good.

~ Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigs List in Founders at Work

Quote: Brainpickings. Photograph: bigmarketingsmallbusiness

30 thoughts on “The differences are at the 5% level. That’s pretty good.”

  2. I wonder where Craig got his information. I am not saying I disagree with it. However I think it may be because of his position in the world. I also disagree with the word “good,” and assigning any sort of objective analysis using the word “good,” as a benchmark of commonality.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. “…how almost universally people are trustworthy and good.” I just don’t know if I can agree with this. When I see what humans, as a species, have done to this planet and their fellow beings on this planet…and what they continue to do, selfishly, with little regard for future generations…it’s hard for me to see the good. There ARE a lot of people who ARE good and keep trying to spread that good…but to say that there is only a 5% difference doesn’t sound quite right to me. Yes, I too would like to believe otherwise, but when I look at the world, I’m left so much of the time with sadness.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  5. I’m not sure that people are universally trustworthy and good, or the world would be a happier and fairer place. There’s some real bad stuff out there, due to selfishness, greed, and inflated egos. That being said, goodness does shine through, often as a response to the damage inflicted by all the bad.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. In general I agree. Within each of us we desire peace and love. It is when one gets into different beliefs and faiths and how these teachings drive people to believe and act out toward those who do not subscribe to their doctrine, the percentages take a major shift. A small cult has little effect on the majority, but major religious followings do. A religion is anything you place your faith in, from evolution to no god, some god or God or somthing that you believe controls your destiny. This world is changing and not necessarily in a good way. One cannot kill and say they love you and want peace in the same sentence. If everyone truly loved and desired peace, the world would have peace and the 5% would not survive. Your post is very thought provoking. I like it. Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thoughtful (as always) Bill. I had similar reaction. Is 95% Good? Is it less than that? Do we all have moments of sin? Is some of this genetic, where wiring may be off a bit in those that struggle?

      Like

      Reply

      1. I agree that there are those that suffer from genetics gone wrong. There are those who suffer from physical and mental abuse and of course those doing the abuse. There are those who use violance to intimidate and gain profits. Then we have todays acts of terrorism touching lives of thousands. One my argue that those doing the terrorizing is still a small percentage of the world population, but its growth is on the rise. If one takes 5% of the world population, it is approximately 325 million people. As the world population grows so does the potential for lage scale distruction. So much havoc, death and distruction has happened over the history of this world in the name of religion or ones belief that they are superior to others. The question comes down to why do not all religions teach love and forgiveness? If 325,000,000 people don’t belive in love and forgiveness then this 5% can influence much larger numbers to follow them and the 5% grows. This is such an important subject with so much at stake for everyone living in this world today, it deserves to be recognized by everone, even if it has not touch ones personal life. Many opinions will be stated, positions taken, but imbracement of love and forgiveness seems hard to find. Thanks again for your post. Sometimes just something simple as a statement about 5% can effect change. If I didn’t believe that one person can make a difference, I wouldn’t be blogging. Thanks for letting me speak my thoughts.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. That 5% is, according to Craig, “minor differences.” So what’s the percentage of the downright scary, off the wall, off the bell curve difference? Even if that’s 1% or 0.5%, it’s still a lot of folks doing a lot of ugliness.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

      2. David, one more thought. Can you imagine what this world would be like if the remaining 95%, 6.275 billion people would preach, spread, talk, teach and live a life of love and forgiveness?

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    1. Let’s get OUT of this military mentality, this Revenge mentality. Here in the U.S., a week doesn’t go by where some messed up guy doesn’t shoot up a bunch of people. This mentality is becoming more and more common as our political reps vote more and more for the Military/Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned us about.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a reply to David Kanigan Cancel reply