71–80 of 84 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> .. this quickly gets into grey areas and situations where the right amount of suppression of ideas gets tricky. "Suppression of ideas" is a grey area ? I have no words.
I should have said speech instead of ideas. I think it’s clear from what I wrote what I was getting at. All societies regulate speech. I don’t know anyone who thinks speech should never be regulated.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But in mathematics the experts really do know what they are talking about, for the most part. Many things aren't like this. Just today there was a thread on mental illness, and the crazy grab-bag of ideas which passes for expert consensus: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19198396 And if that's not crazy enough, look up what they believed 60 years ago. Should those have been locked in, by government force? Or sho…
In an area as concrete and black/white as mathematics it’s still hard to convince some non experts that we really do know what we are talking about. Imagine how much harder it is in trying to convince anti vaxers to vaccinate. When society makes policy it’s best not to treat everyone’s opinion as equal. We are not able to always correctly deduce what is the best course of action on our own when it’s an area we have n…
Or worse, how do you know that the evolution side would win the battle to be selected as the official experts on this matter? We have these fights over school boards right now, and sometimes the biblical literalists have more votes. Who gets to decide the how the head-count of experts is to be conducted? I think it pays to imagine these weapons being used by our enemies.
I don't know the solution to the anti-vax madness, but I think censorship is a much bigger battle.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In an area as concrete and black/white as mathematics it’s still hard to convince some non experts that we really do know what we are talking about. Imagine how much harder it is in trying to convince anti vaxers to vaccinate. When society makes policy it’s best not to treat everyone’s opinion as equal. We are not able to always correctly deduce what is the best course of action on our own when it’s an area we have n…
But which year's crop of psychiatrist ideas should we enshrine in law? In 1950 there were rebels who didn't buy the consensus, and their ideas won, things improved. Why wouldn't this change have been prevented? Or worse, how do you know that the evolution side would win the battle to be selected as the official experts on this matter? We have these fights over school boards right now, and sometimes the biblical liter…
If 99% of oncologists think you have cancer then I hope you get treatment for cancer. And if 99% of them think option A is your best hope then I suggest you take their advice. You don’t have to. They may be wrong but in this world of uncertainty and imperfect information it’s the best option.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There will always be some probability of error but we needn’t be afraid to declare some things dangerous and wrong. But, who is we in this case? And what specifically are some things and how narrowly are they defined? > The best we can do is go by consensus expert opinion. Is that really the best we can do? How many times in history has consensus expert opinion been found later to be dangerous and wrong ? Should we…
We is you, me, and society at large. Yes, it really is the best we can do. If a very large majority of the people who study an area of science agree on a conclusion in that area then it’s more likely they are right than someone who has no expertise in that area. Clearly if a large majority of the experts in an area of science agree on something then it suggests that if a person were to educate themself in that area t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> .. this quickly gets into grey areas and situations where the right amount of suppression of ideas gets tricky. "Suppression of ideas" is a grey area ? I have no words.
I should have said speech instead of ideas. I think it’s clear from what I wrote what I was getting at. All societies regulate speech. I don’t know anyone who thinks speech should never be regulated.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Expanding on my own post... why is it any tech company's responsibility to protect people from their own bad decisions?
Legal responsibility, or moral? The answer is of course "it depends," in this case on who you ask. Maybe they don't even think it's their responsibility, but they think it will make life better for their customers. I personally do a lot of things that aren't my responsibility , but which I think are good to do for various other reasons.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Expanding on my own post... why is it any tech company's responsibility to protect people from their own bad decisions?
Are you serious? Because as of so far, in the US, the law demands it. Look at every product you buy "Don't do X dangerous thing with said device". We regulate countless things that can be physically harmful to individuals. I can't go to the store and by dynamite because I can harm myself and others with it. So should information be regulated if it can cause physical harm to oneself and others. This is not an easy que…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But which year's crop of psychiatrist ideas should we enshrine in law? In 1950 there were rebels who didn't buy the consensus, and their ideas won, things improved. Why wouldn't this change have been prevented? Or worse, how do you know that the evolution side would win the battle to be selected as the official experts on this matter? We have these fights over school boards right now, and sometimes the biblical liter…
I’ve only been talking about topics in which the overwhelming majority of experts in that area agree upon. If each year’s class of residency graduates in psychiatry all have different opinions on a given topic then this clearly is not in the scope of my comments. Also, I acknowledged that sometimes experts get it wrong. My point is that this fact ought not disuade someone from relying upon consensus expert opinion. F…