I like the marriage of the serious, the formal, the academic, the rigorous, the theoretical with the casual, the informal, the vernacular, the everyday, the practical I also despise it Because this is yet another way in which we mislead others and ourselves Not everything can be formulated rigorously And then even if …
Tag: Society
You’re Confused About Public Sentiment and Power
Public sentiment is just people = number of individuals = individual magnitude doesn’t so much matter = so basic statistics will do, e.g. asking the same question and seeing the answers Likewise for contexts like democracy, where each vote is equal = then you can extrapolate what the state is like politically (albeit politicians …
Politics Should Be Boring
Politics should be boring Politicians should be boring Structure should be boring Law and order should be boring Processes should be boring The world is chaotic enough Not only in bad a way, such as: wars, including culture wars, plagues, pandemics, crises, natural disasters But also in good way, such as: …
Contrarianism Is Downstream From Being Right
Are you a contrarian? Or just a fool? The question to ask is: Are you MORE OFTEN RIGHT than others? If not — then you’re just a fool, aren’t you? Of course there’s the question of payoff Maybe your scepticism makes you unduly reject prevailing wisdom sometimes, And maybe it makes you susceptible …
There Are No Gurus — Only Experts
There are no gurus Only experts We distrust experts Because experts are sometimes wrong, or corrupted What a joke It’s like distrusting air because sometimes it smells Doesn’t mean you should stop breathing Experts are still the best we have By definition, that’s what expert is — the most qualified, educated, capable person …
Voters Are Always Stupid — It’s Elites That Failed Us
Voters will always be stupid Too stupid to understand the nuance of government, the system, anyway Too stupid to appreciate the legacy they have inherited Therefore it’s elites that failed us Voters are always dumber than the final political, government, business product But elites lead and carry the entire system on their shoulders They …
Modest In Understanding, Cautious In Action, Yet Utterly Arrogant In Speech
-your relation to most things is that “YOU DON’T KNOW” -and you know that you don’t know — because you could test it -you could test your understanding by making predictions -you could BET on your predictions -but you don’t. You know you’d lose Every action you take is a bet on certain state …
United by Shared Vices
We’re not only joined by values and virtues, my friend VICES can also UNITE us Like attracts like, doesn’t it? That would be one mechanism But why would you be attracted to something ugly? Well, you wouldn’t be repelled if it wasn’t a net negative to you. We tend to be attracted by …
Is There Ever Place for Personal Insults?
Objective reality is independent of people Or, at very least, when you’re engaging someone — you’re by definition now attempting to engage in something that is objective Because if it’s subjective — then how can you meet on a shared understanding and shared plan? If you think the ball must be put in a basket, …
Society Is Tribal, But Not Tractable
Society is tribal: -Learns mimetically -Optimises for consensus -Has instilled biases in favour of one’s group -etc But it’s also not a motionless solid, that once wrought a certain way, stays that way Nor one that is easily shaped and manipulated from outside, while having no volition or behaviour of it’s own What …