The Novelty Bias

'New' and 'better' are not synonyms.

Modern people have a novelty bias. Most of us have an insatiable desire for ‘new’ things. We want to watch new movies, buy new clothes, and own the latest technology. Amongst young people in particular, ‘newer’ is often used as a synonym for ‘better’.

This is understandable because there are many situations where newer does mean better. When it comes to electronic technologies like computers, TVs, cameras, and smartphones, the newer ones typically are better than their older counterparts. New medical and scientific knowledge is better than the older information that it supersedes, provided the research is conducted honestly and accurately.

However, the idea that ‘newer is better’ can get us into trouble when it comes to other areas of life. In fact, this assumption is currently wreaking havoc upon the sanity, cohesion, and prosperity of our societies.

When it comes to new ideas, most are not good, let alone better. As a species, we have gone through thousands of years of experimentation, with trillions of collective iterations before reaching our current state. Whatever ‘new’ idea you have for humanity has probably been thought of already, attempted on some scale, and either been found to be untenable, unhelpful, or unsustainable.

In any relatively functional society, we could consider the enduring customs, traditions, and social norms to be a collection of ideas and behaviours that have been proven to work for most people in most cases. To be clear, I use the word ‘work’ here rather loosely because things can operate in a state of dysfunction, tyranny, or immorality for long periods. For an obvious example, consider that slavery was practised all around the world for millennia. An institution that normalised the ownership and oppression of other people was considered acceptable (or at least permissible) by millions of people across different continents. Bad ideas can undoubtedly persist for a long time.

But on balance, old ideas tend to be better than new ideas. That’s because they have been tried and tested, and have survived the trials of time. If an idea or behaviour is widespread and encouraged across generations, nations, and cultures, it’s reasonable to assume that it serves a valuable societal function. Two popular examples of this would be marriage and the formation of nuclear families.

People have been getting married for thousands of years, across different geographies, cultures, and religions. There have always been communities of people that eschewed this structure, but it appears they rarely stuck around to pass on their ways of life across generations. Therefore, common sense suggests that marriage exists for good reasons and is advantageous to society.

It is worth pointing out an important difference between the examples above. Whilst slavery was a widespread practice for millennia, and sadly still exists illegally, people did not voluntarily choose to be slaves. For the institution to exist and persist, it required force, coercion, and violence. People did not desire to be slaves, and those who were enslaved desired to be free.

This is different to marriage, which most people choose to enter voluntarily. Yes, I am aware of forced marriages and other coercive practices. But I trust my readers are wise enough to discern the differences between these institutions.

One of my major concerns about the modern world is that we are too often sacrificing good and tested ideas at the altar of new and untested ones. Instead of thinking about whether an idea is ‘good’ and acting with prudence, it is often assumed the ‘new’ idea is better and should thus be adopted. There is an assumption that all change is ‘progress’, regardless of its impact.

As a result, the foundational ideas and institutions that serve as the glue and compass for our societies are constantly under attack. This includes religion, tradition, patriotism, the family unit, free speech, free markets, rule of law, and even the belief in objective truth.