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The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

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Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#21

Post by Zigurd »

rytill wrote: post #3

The buffet line analogy doesn’t really work. Since you can’t go backwards or look too far ahead, you take the items at the beginning that are above your satisfaction threshold, not knowing whether there will be items further along that satisfy you.

The buffet line is a simplified test, meant to isolate an effect. Compare going to the grocery store with making a grocery delivery shopping list. You will find that end caps, promotions, coupons, shelf position, etc. all have an effect on you.

You will also find a lot of literature saying these things don't work. What they mean is "they don't work in the way they were sold to the people buying the end cap." But they sure do have an effect.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#23

Post by atarian »

red_admiral wrote: post #17

Since this is freshman-level "think, don't believe", here's an equally valid counterargument at roughly the same level. In Heinrich's book "The Secret of our Success" on cumulative cultural evolution, he gives an example of pre-Columbus American cultures whose diet was based on bitter manioc (a.k.a. cassava). Like the name suggests, in its raw form it's too bitter to eat, but these cultures evolved a set of tradition…

Never heard about Chesterton's Fence, thanks for sharing that. Definitely applicable to legacy code.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#24

Post by watwut »

Fellshard wrote: post #18
tenebrisalietum wrote: post #9

So obviously this can tie into current social media and the spread of mal-information such as antivax, COVID mask protests, and memes that people let alter their impression of people. The traditional way to mitigate misinformation's harm was education and a respect for the educated. I think three things have happened that have prevented this from working: - We decided decades ago that people needed college degrees to…

We're also seeing an increasing number of cases where high-profile experts are making high-profile claims that then fold in full public view; or experts that make contradictory claims, under which case: from the perspective of a non-expert, who's right? Education is essential, and yet is not a panacea for thinking well. So when experts can't seem to give people a straight answer, they'll simply turn to their peer gro…

First problem is expecting expert answer to be simple, easy to understand, without asterisks and conditions. Experts often disagree about nuances or have competing theories.

Second issue is tendency to take the first confident guy with simple answer as expert. The folding expert is pretty often not considered expert by people who deal with the field - he is typically just someone confident and well spoken.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#25

Post by crims0n »

The article seems to be making a case for protecting your mind from the constant bombardment of "junk food" media readily available in our current culture. I respect the idea, but I find it impractical. I do however find it effective to control the flow of that media, and in particular control the order in which I consume it.

If I roll out of bed and open reddit or facebook first thing in the morning, I feel like I am priming my mind for failure. Lately I have been trying to read more enriching material in the morning, and slowly move into less useful material as the day goes on. For example, I usually wake up and have my first coffee while reading HN and WSJ. Mid morning break I may read a chapter of whatever non-fiction book I am currently working on. Lunch may be Ars, TC, or hackaday. And finally in the evening I will start moving towards reddit, facebook, etc.

Maybe there are more disciplined people out there that can completely avoid non-enriching material, but for some reason I can't shake it. I can however move it to the least productive part of my day, and I generally feel better for it.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#26

Post by omreaderhn »

red_admiral wrote: post #17

Since this is freshman-level "think, don't believe", here's an equally valid counterargument at roughly the same level. In Heinrich's book "The Secret of our Success" on cumulative cultural evolution, he gives an example of pre-Columbus American cultures whose diet was based on bitter manioc (a.k.a. cassava). Like the name suggests, in its raw form it's too bitter to eat, but these cultures evolved a set of tradition…

Nassim Taleb's "Lindy Effect" I think is an interesting take on how to mediate between these two modes. The general idea is that the older a (still followed) tradition is the more likely it is to contain some eternal truths that should be respected even if you yourself can't understand them directly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#27

Post by nottorp »

rytill wrote: post #3

The buffet line analogy doesn’t really work. Since you can’t go backwards or look too far ahead, you take the items at the beginning that are above your satisfaction threshold, not knowing whether there will be items further along that satisfy you.

Not to mention that there are people who just want to eat something and will pick the first item that's above said threshold because they just don't care.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#29

Post by vz8 »

The buffet analogy is interesting, but flawed in the sense that:

1. your selections don't radically change what the buffet offers in real time like, say, Google search.

and

2. Unless you take pains to anonymize, your buffet options are already skewed to support your biases, say to starches.

My wife and I will research the same topic at the same time on our respective workstations and get radically different results. The internet echo chamber feeds back two very different experiences, side by side (Never mind what happens when I fire up a non-US VPN)

One of us adds a single negative keyword to their search phrase and the results are dishearteningly dystopic. Coworkers who rely on Facebook for their daily dose of tribal information have an extremely different set of 'facts' for any topic I care to mention.

What I find most disturbing about this is that few people can/will take the time to compare notes across tribal or socioeconomic divides in a meaningful way -- we're all consuming a different buffet and its becoming more difficult by the minute to be sure of the chefs and suppliers.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#30

Post by dsr_ »

tomgp wrote: post #19

The reason why people cut a cross in the base of Brussels sprouts is so they tough part cooks faster so the more delicate leaves don’t go soggy the evil spirits thing is just a nice story

2 useful notes:

- A less bitter variety of Brussels sprouts became widespread about a decade ago

- Any water-based method of cooking Brussels sprouts is convenient but terrible compared to pan-frying with some onion and salt

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