Sensemaking in the 21st Century: A Conversation with Noetic Nomads Founder Albert Kim

Amidst the growing uncertainty of the world around us and the erosion of public trust and good faith dialogue, I was drawn to several thinkers and platforms which offered a critical analysis of the current state of global affairs. The frameworks and structures that we’ve relied on for so long are no longer a sufficient to make sense of events in an increasingly complex, divisive and fractured world. With vast changes in the media, politics, economics we need to critically assess how we can become more informed and equipped to deal with the many changes, challenges and demands of the 21^st century.

The real problem of humanity is the following: We have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a crisis overall
Edward O. Wilson

Emerging in a narrow corner of the internet is a group of thinkers paving the way forward to more beautiful futures, thinking about how we can shift from zero sum (win\lose) to positive sum (win\win) societies. That is, how can we transition to a world which puts wellbeing above profit, appreciates the finite resources on the planet and ensures that everyone has an opportunity to get ahead?

Of this group is Albert Kim and his project Noetic Nomads. I have attended a couple of his sessions where he gathers a diverse range of intellectually savvy thinkers to discuss how we can foster collective wisdom and insights to address some of these difficult and complex issues we face today.

I reached out to Albert to get his thoughts on the current set of crises, and to learn more about how he navigates the modern media landscape.

Tell me a bit about what got you interested in groups like the Stoa and Rebel Wisdom? What attracted you to the sensemaking space?

I’ve been immersed in the holistic health/biohacking space for around a decade in an effort to heal/improve myself outside the conventional medical paradigm. Through podcasts such as Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Radio, I was exposed to the supplement company Neurohacker Collective around the year 2017. I then discovered the Collective Insights podcast hosted by Daniel Schmachtenberger and it had, by far, the most mind-blowing conversations I’d come across, period. Daniel eventually left the show which I lamented.

After COVID hit, I had an itch to search for more podcasts featuring Daniel, of which one was Rebel Wisdom. I then found the Rebel Wisdom YouTube and the Sensemaking 101 course, which changed my life, as well as The Stoa through a YouTube recommendation for one of Daniel’s appearances on there. So, basically, Daniel Schmachtenberger.

Sensemaking refers to the idea of making sense of the unknown and coming to an understanding of what is going on in our external environment.

2. What is Noetic Nomads and what are some of the goals of the project?

My tagline is that Noetic Nomads is a community of radical thinkers and doers coming together to co-create a more beautiful future. The primary goal of the project is to attract a diverse assortment of minds from across the disciplinary spectrum to work on projects in service of a better world. Secondary goals include providing a platform for which community members can create and publish their own content, offer services, and support themselves financially. A bigger goal is to actually bootstrap our own circular digital economy (with cryptocurrency, for example), create a digital nation, and perhaps integrate it with an intentional physical community.

3. Many have said we live in a ‘post-truth’ world, with media organizations which interpret facts to align with their existing narratives. What is your approach in sensemaking and arriving at truth?

To state we live in a post-truth world is to presume we once lived in a ‘truth world’. I’m not sure when we lived in that world or what that world would’ve looked like. My approach to sensemaking and to arriving at truth is essentially to believe in that which is useful and/or in that which I like.

Much of the time what is useful is conforming with what many others believe, other times it’s to dissent, and there are times when it’s useful to believe in things which I know are likely far removed from any basis in ‘reality’, whatever that means. And sometimes I just believe in things which I like. I don’t think I’m much different than most people.

4. Do you have any advice to try and look at different perspectives objectively, and resist the temptation to be drawn into various competing ideologies?

I don’t really believe in the concept of ‘objective’ reality—I’m more so into idea of intersubjective realities. The concept of an objective observer is a contradiction in terms. My advice to one trying to make sense is to understand that everyone including themselves is simply making up a story. It may be a useful story in one case or another, but it’s still just a story. Use your discernment to parse out which stories are most useful.

5. Lastly, how can we build a more beautiful world that our hearts know is possible?

Love, and deeply rooted connection to the universe.