The dangers of preconceived judgement:
look beyond stereotypes

People often say “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, and it holds true in many aspects of life. We are all
guilty of making snap judgements about others based on their appearance, actions or even just a brief
encounter. But have you ever wondered why it’s important not to judge someone before getting to know
them? Do you ever consider that?
[5]   Imagine that you are at a party and, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a person with a unique
hairstyle and an outfit that screams “fashion forward”. Your brain, always ready for action, instantly springs
into snap judgement mode. “They must be an avant-garde artist or a fashion model”, it enthusiastically
proclaims. This is thin slice judgement! It refers to the action of making lightning-fast judgements based
on minimal information. An example is when you are at a job interview, and the person in the hot seat
[10]   glances at your handwriting before making a quick assessment of your personality. It sounds ludicrous,
but our brain has a way of magnifying minor details and turning them into grand narratives. As amusing
as it may seem, such judgements can have real-life consequences.
While snap judgements can provide an amusing story to share at parties, they can perpetuate stereotypes,
reinforce biases and limit our ability to see the true beauty in diversity. Instead of jumping to conclusions,
[15]   it’s better to lean into curiosity. Ask questions, seek out diverse perspectives and recognize that everyone
has a unique story to tell. By embracing our inquisitive nature, we can uncover the richness of human
experiences and challenge our own biases.
Empathy is the secret weapon against prejudice. To truly understand someone, you must put yourself in
their shoes and see the world through their eyes. Actually, prejudice is when we form an opinion or make
[20]   assumptions about someone without having all the facts. It’s like trying to write a book review after only
reading the first chapter. We should strive to give people a fair chance before passing judgement. Besides,
it’s essential to remember that nobody is perfect, and we should embrace diversity instead of assuming
we’re always right. Rather than acting as self-appointed judges, we should approach people with empathy
and understanding.
[25]   Practicing self-compassion and recognizing our own imperfections can help us show more compassion
towards others. Harsh judgement can stem from a variety of factors, such as insecurity, fear or simply our
own experiences and biases, but it’s okay, we’ve all been there! What’s important is to take a step back and
reflect on why we are quick to judge. And, if we always do that, it’s time to think outside the box.

PATRICK TURNER
Adaptado de appgecet.co.in.

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Deadly Floods in Brazil Were Worsened by Climate Change, Study finds.

The country’s south received three months’ rain in two weeks. Global warming has made such deluges twice as likely as before, scientists said.

By Raymond Zhong and Manuela Andreoni

June 3, 2024

Human-caused warming has doubled the chances that southern Brazil will experience extreme, multiday downpours like the ones that recently caused disastrous flooding there, a team of scientists said on Monday. The deluges have killed at least 172 people and displaced more than half a million residents from their homes.

Three months’ rain fell in a two-week span of April and May in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. After analyzing weather records, the scientists estimated that the region had a 1 percent chance each year of receiving so much rain in so little time. In the cooler climate of the 19th century, before large-scale emissions of greenhouse gases, such colossal downpours were far rarer, the researchers said.

When the latest rains hit, Rio Grande do Sul was still recovering from floods that killed at least 54 people late last year. Three of the four largest floods ever recorded in the state’s capital, Porto Alegre, have now occurred in the past nine months, said Regina Rodrigues, a professor of physical oceanography at the Federal University of Santa Catarina and one of the scientists who worked the new analysis of the climate situation in the south. “While significant floods have occurred in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the past, they are becoming increasingly strong and widespread,” Dr. Rodrigues said at a news conference. The floods damaged roads, bridges, airports and transmission lines. They ruined soy, rice and wheat crops, which are essential to Brazil’s food supply and economy. Schools closed for weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of students out of the classroom.

Years of scientific studies have warned that climate change would lead to more intense rainfall and flooding in southern Brazil. But politicians still struggle to accept and act on future climate risks, said Natalie Unterstell, the head of Talanoa, a climate policy research institute in Brazil.“The willingness to listen to scientific information hasn’t translated into decision and investments based on long-term considerations,” she added.

Disponível em https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/climate/brazil-floodsclimate-change.html Acesso 09 jun 2024

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Read Your Way Through Salvador

By Itamar Vieira Junior and translated by Johnny Lorenz. July 19, 2023.

I was born in Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, and lived in the general vicinity until I reached the age of 15. But it was when I left that I really came to know my city. How was I able to discover more about my birthplace while traveling far from home? It might sound rather clichéd but, I assure you, literature made this possible: It took me on a journey, long and profound, back home, enveloping me in words and imagination.

To understand the formation of our unique society and, consequently, the cityscape of Salvador, one should read, before anything else, "The Story of Rufino: Slavery, Freedom and Islam in the Black Atlantic," by João José Reis, Flávio dos Santos Gomes and Marcus J.M. de Carvalho. Rufino was an alufá, or Muslim spiritual leader, born in the Oyo empire in present-day Nigeria and enslaved during his adolescence. "The Story of Rufino" is an epic tale, encapsulating the life of one man in search of freedom as well as the history of the development of Salvador itself, a place inextricably linked with the diaspora across the Black Atlantic. Another book for which I have deep affection is "The City of Women," by the American anthropologist Ruth Landes. It offers an intriguing perspective, focusing on matriarchal power in candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian sacred practice, and revealing how the social organization of its spiritual communities reverberates across the city.

If you want to feel the intensity of life on the streets of Salvador, these two books, both by Amado, are indispensable: "Captains of the Sands" and "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands." The first is a coming-of-age story in which we follow a group of children and adolescents living on the streets and on the beaches around the Bay of All Saints. Written more than 80 years ago, the book was banned and even burned in the public square during the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in the first half of the 20th century. As a portrait of Salvador, it is still relevant and reveals our deep inequalities. "Dona Flor and her Two Husbands" is one of Amado's most popular novels, translated into more than 30 languages and adapted many times for theater, cinema, and television. The book is a kind of manifesto for a woman's liberation. Dona Flor possesses great culinary talent, and oppressed by a patriarchal society, finds herself divided between two men, one being her deceased husband. While the novel captures the daily life of the city in the 1940s, it is also a wonderful guide to the cuisine of Salvador, with its African and Portuguese influences.

I invite readers to travel into the interior of Bahia, many hours by car from Salvador to the region known as the Sertão, whose name translates loosely to "backwoods." Two books can also transport you there, and they are sides of the same story: "Backlands: The Canudos Campaign," by Euclides da Cunha, and "The War of the End of the World," by Mario Vargas Llosa.

"Backlands" is one of the most important works in the history of Brazilian literature. It is a journalistic telling that introduces us not only to the brutal War of Canudos, but also to the intriguing landscape of the Sertão, a place so full of contradictions. In his writing of the conflict, da Cunha tells the story of the genesis of the tough sertanejo: a mythic, cowboyesque figure of the drought-stricken, lawless interior. "The War of the End of the World" is an essential epic that amplifies the narrative of "Backlands," bringing a more imaginative, creative aspect to the story of Antônio Conselheiro, the spiritual leader of a rebellion, and of the multitude that followed him to their deaths.

[Fonte: "Read Your Way Through Salvador". In: The New York Times, 19/07/2023, .Adaptado, Data de acesso: 01/09/2023.]