Generally you should assume that tradition/status quo is always right until proven otherwise (=a logically compelling argument against, backed empirically).
Experimental evidence shows that tradition and common sense are almost invariably wrong.
Tradition is Smarter (2018)
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Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#12Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
Progress itself is a tradition, but a relatively recent one, and not one deserving reverence. At least, not any more.
… says someone who if they are posting on HN has very likely never known actual hunger or true poverty and has all humanity’s history and knowledge at their fingertips instantly.
The problem with progress is that it makes people so comfortable and privileged that they dream up inane fantasy ideologies that question progress and harken back to the imaginary golden ages from which their ancestors painfully crawled.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#13Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
Maybe you should be worshipping the sun. Morning sunlight exposure is associated with all kinds of health benefits, not least of which producing Vitamin D, an essential vitamin that, among other things, provides vital protection against certain circulating diseases...
Maybe you should also live everyday as though the possibility of the sun never rising again were real, then maybe you might get busy doing those important things in your life.
Again, tradition is smarter than you.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#14Cultural knowledge vs individual knowledge is an interesting dichotomy to explore. Cultural knowledge has a way of distilling information into very parsimonious and digestible forms for individuals then to propagate. The knowledge is in some sense only stored in the hyper-individual, ie, the society, while the individuals are following their own rules (and using their own models) to interact with and make use of it.…
"But the system as a whole, enacted through the collection of people who implement it, does demonstrate effective outcomes re: community health."
What india and what china are you refering to, when you say "good community health"?
I am not a historian and have not been to both countries, but my general picture of the times where those medicine traditions were at its height, is not really of a healthy one.
There were certainly healthy individuals, but the community health probably has to be described as, survival of the fittest.
Via martial arts, I did study a bit of chinese medicine and I can say I like the general idea of keeping the body in balance. And that sickness is rather a symptom (of imbalance) than the root cause. But the concrete steps they have to do, well, I'd say it is probably 99% placebo.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#15Chesterson's fence is about understanding: tradition may be smarter than you, maybe not, but it would serve well to understand the reasons why it's a tradition before disposing with it.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#16Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
Maybe you should be worshipping the sun. Morning sunlight exposure is associated with all kinds of health benefits, not least of which producing Vitamin D, an essential vitamin that, among other things, provides vital protection against certain circulating diseases... Maybe you should also live everyday as though the possibility of the sun never rising again were real, then maybe you might get busy doing those import…
You can develop a days worth of vitamin D in 15 minutes (or simply supplement it for the same benefits), meanwhile excessive sun exposure is correlated with all manner of health problems, not the least of which is cancer. People who spend more time outdoors tend to die younger.
Again, progress trumps tradition.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#17I think the real "cultural singularity" has been the transition to this being false after spending the overwhelming portion of human history and development being true.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#18Generally you should assume that tradition/status quo is always right until proven otherwise (=a logically compelling argument against, backed empirically).
Experimental evidence shows that tradition and common sense are almost invariably wrong.
Now that's some strong (dis)confirmation bias.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#19Someone said: traditions are solutions of forgotten problems.
Re: Tradition is Smarter (2018)
#20Well, let's go back to worshipping the sun, then. Who knows, if we don't, it might not rise tomorrow... Or, just maybe, progress itself is a tradition that deserves its own reverence. Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
> Sometimes, Chesterson's fence was erected by a shepherd who no longer uses the field that you'd rather play soccer on. It was useful in its day, but no longer.
I mean, that's the point of the metaphor: before knocking down the fence, figure out what purpose it served in the first place. It's not a question of "don't ever knock down a fence" or "always knock down fences".