We share more than meets the eye

Most of us know almost nothing about what other people believe, why they believe it or how it feels to believe it. Yet every single person we encounter has a story — a set of beliefs, life experiences, values, struggles and victories — that make them a truly unique individual.

One reason for this disconnect is that our perspective is built around our own narrow experience and people often lack the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about their experiences, particularly with those who have different points of view. Without this dialogue, it is difficult to understand the perspective of others and the reasoning behind their beliefs. Additionally, there is so much information and so many various perspectives in the world, making it challenging to sift through and find common ground. We therefore too often categorize people into broad characteristics that deny the diversity of belief and focus on our differences rather than our similarities.

Another reason we struggle to identify common ground is that we often lack awareness of our own beliefs. Despite its importance, proper reflection has become a lost art. Today, we have so much information at our fingertips that, in many cases, we assume we know the answers even before we have considered the questions. Guided contemplation, or the meditative examination of oneself, spurs deep introspection and consideration of alternative perspectives. This builds a deeper connection with our beliefs and ourselves.

That’s what the Every games are all about. By posing thoughtful questions backed by research to encourage reflection and diversity of thought, we step outside of our day-to-day and consider ourselves and our surroundings at a deeper level. As you play the games, we show you who you share common ground with — both your specific connections who answer in similar ways to you, as well as the values, mindsets and perspectives that are most correlated with your responses. This allows you to find commonality in places it may not be obvious — by revealing that your uncle who you’ve always struggled to understand or connect with shares your dry sense of humor, or that your common ground with your engineering colleagues is through your shared growth mindset. Surfacing this commonality bridges divides and deepens relationships, bringing us one step closer to a productive collective dialogue.

Once our beliefs are clarified and we’ve started to find common ground with others, we can use modern technologies such as data science and artificial intelligence to deepen relationships. People are complex, and AI can help us sort through that complexity. At Every, we use data science to refine prompts that best utilize the power of AI to write advice for effective communication, ways to support each other, conflict resolution and much more. This provides truly personalized guidance for deepening relationships based on the unique dynamics of how two different people relate. In doing so, we not only gain deeper connection with others through mutual understanding, respect and empathy, but also with ourselves.