Bubble hopping can lead to emotionally unsettling experiences that challenge personal values.
Questioning initial feelings of discomfort and engaging with others from a place of understanding is morally superior to judgment.
Deep dives
Max Hawkins breaks out of his bubble with a random event app
Max Hawkins, feeling trapped in his routine life, created an app that randomly selected events for him to attend, taking him out of his comfort zone. After sharing his story, there was a strong interest from others wanting to experience a different world. Max is now close to releasing his app to the market and has started a Facebook group to help people find random events. However, the experience of bubble hopping can be emotionally unsettling when it leads to places that challenge personal values.
Max questions his discomfort and connects with others
Max Hawkins, even when faced with morally repugnant situations, chose to question his initial feelings of discomfort. He believes that turning towards people and understanding where they're coming from is morally superior to judgment. This mindset led him to engage in conversations and resolve conflicts within himself. While some applauded his approach, others, like Aaron, struggled to take the generous view of people in uncomfortable situations that went against their beliefs.
The choice between closing off and questioning disgust
The response to discomfort and disgust can vary, as shown by Max and Aaron's experiences. Max aimed to open himself up to different perspectives, while Aaron found it difficult to relate due to strong personal values. The question of which response is more moral is subjective, as people may choose to close off to stand up for their beliefs, or question their own disgust to connect with others.
In this bonus episode, we catch up with a character from Season 3 of Invisibilia... Max Hawkins, a San Francisco-based computer programmer who initially built an app to help him break out of his predictable bubble. Recently, Max, and others he's inspired to "bubble-hop," have been led to confront situations they feel have crossed the line from uncomfortable...to morally repugnant. These experiences have meant grappling with when to shut down, and when to engage. Invisibilia is supported by GoToMeeting: https://www.gotomeeting.com/