The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon & Renewable Energy
Have you ever heard of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon?
I hadn’t, either. Let’s talk about what it is and why it matters.
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What is the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon?
Also known as the frequency illusion, it’s a cognitive bias in which a person tends to notice something more (whether that’s a product, word, concept, or, yes, a problem) after they’ve become aware of it.
It’s similar to the idea of confirmation bias, in which you tend to seek out evidence that confirms your beliefs while overlooking evidence to the contrary.
Both of these phenomena are very easy to fall into. Social media, with its algorithms meant to maximize engagement (and profit) by showing you content you’re more likely to engage with.
In other words, don’t trust that what you see on your Facebook feed is reflective of reality. You might see “tons of articles” about “how bad renewables are." That doesn’t mean that’s all the evidence that exists.
Remember - everything is curated.
On a recent post of mine, a commenter raged, “It seems clear you haven’t talked to good farmers that don’t want to destroy their land... So many lies being told.”
I will be the first to admit that I probably am experiencing some of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon myself. When I see solar farms, I’m happy - I see sheep grazing beneath, pollinators thriving, circular economies that benefit local communities. That’s my own bias, because that’s the experience I’ve lived.
But we need to be very, very careful about labeling anything or anyone as “good or bad” and implying that the farmers who want to put solar on their land are doing so because they don’t care about the land.
Because the reality is, farmers pursuing agrivoltaics are doing it because they DO care. About the land, about the people in their communities, and about their own long-term viability.
I understand and appreciate that we’re living in very challenging times. People have always disagreed (and that, to me, is a beautiful thing), but now, our disagreements are being amplified because social media feeds into our confirmation biases. It’s easy to “find evidence” of things we believe when that’s all we look for or because five people agree with us online.
Final Takeaway
My challenge to everyone who reads this post is to dig a little deeper.
We are fully enmeshed in the "Dis-Information Age." It's very easy to assume that anything we read that we disagree with is a deliberate lie. This is what the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon encourages us to do. This is what social media is engineering.
But remember: there is always nuance. We all view things from a different lens. You may in fact know five farmers, and all five of those farmers disagree with the idea of renewables. I respect that is your perspective. That is not my perspective. That doesn't make either one of us a liar. It also does not make the information inaccurate.
Open dialogue is missing in politics these days. Let's make it a grassroots effort. Let's rethink our biases and have conversations with people we disagree with.
There's a good chance we all agree on more than we think we do.
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