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Need for cognition

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Re: Need for cognition

#81

Post by mahathu »

xyzelement wrote: post #80

This maps to something I've noticed. There's a pattern where human beings are wired to enjoy things that are important for their survival and thriving, but that these instincts are easily hijacked for aimless gratification. Eating junk food (vs stuff that gives you health and energy) or whacking off to porn (instead of healthy relationships and procreation) are examples of this. Anyway "the need for cognition"... I n…

> This maps to something I've noticed. > There's a pattern where human beings are wired to enjoy things that are important for their survival and thriving, but that these instincts are easily hijacked for aimless gratification.

It's late and I'm tired so most likely I'm not understanding your point properly. Aren't those literally the most fundamental and nearly universally known (i.e. preached by popular science) results from (a) evolution and (b) neuroscience research, respectively?

Re: Need for cognition

#82

Post by MisterPea »

rossdavidh wrote: post #18

" People low in need for cognition are also more likely to rely on stereotypes alone in judging other people than those high in need for cognition." You know, I could believe that, but I can't help wondering if the people who do research in psychology (or most people in academia really) are not more likely to be high-NFC types, and thus not exactly objective in deciding what potential advantages/disadvantages to rese…

Agree. Something in the past few years that's changed for me is to be less of the "Trust the science" type person.

Ultimately research is conducted by humans and we are all prone to any normal human biases

Re: Need for cognition

#83

Post by preordained »

mahathu wrote: post #81
xyzelement wrote: post #80

This maps to something I've noticed. There's a pattern where human beings are wired to enjoy things that are important for their survival and thriving, but that these instincts are easily hijacked for aimless gratification. Eating junk food (vs stuff that gives you health and energy) or whacking off to porn (instead of healthy relationships and procreation) are examples of this. Anyway "the need for cognition"... I n…

> This maps to something I've noticed. > There's a pattern where human beings are wired to enjoy things that are important for their survival and thriving, but that these instincts are easily hijacked for aimless gratification. It's late and I'm tired so most likely I'm not understanding your point properly. Aren't those literally the most fundamental and nearly universally known (i.e. preached by popular science) re…

Not OP...but no, I think you way overstating how fundamental and well-known all this supposedly is, despite trending awareness

Re: Need for cognition

#84

Post by preordained »

Apocryphon wrote: post #75
jdthedisciple wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are aware though that yesterday's conspiracy theories have now repeatedly proven to become tomorrow's mainstream headlines, right?

Depends on the theory. I doubt we're going to discover proof that Moscow was hit by a nuke in 1812. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vENwllHqDIE

And this is why no one can see eye to eye...because no one wants to. The slightest nerve jangled and we start arguing in bad faith

Re: Need for cognition

#85

Post by EFreethought »

topherPedersen wrote: post #3

Some people don't have this. A lot of people aren't very curious at all. Last night in Austin I saw a full self driving car from Cruise drive by with no driver while I was at a crosswalk. No one noticed or cared that a car just drove by with no one in it! It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, and the people around me did not notice or care.

Maybe the people who did not notice just do not care that much about traffic, but are curious about other things.

When I am walking around in a big city, traffic is more of an annoying fact of life than something I would regard as interesting.

Re: Need for cognition

#86

Post by Apocryphon »

preordained wrote: post #84
Apocryphon wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the theory. I doubt we're going to discover proof that Moscow was hit by a nuke in 1812. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vENwllHqDIE

And this is why no one can see eye to eye...because no one wants to. The slightest nerve jangled and we start arguing in bad faith

Who's arguing?

Re: Need for cognition

#87

Post by fasterik »

xyzelement wrote: post #80

This maps to something I've noticed. There's a pattern where human beings are wired to enjoy things that are important for their survival and thriving, but that these instincts are easily hijacked for aimless gratification. Eating junk food (vs stuff that gives you health and energy) or whacking off to porn (instead of healthy relationships and procreation) are examples of this. Anyway "the need for cognition"... I n…

Lucrative professions have their own ways of hijacking the need for cognition. For example, programming can be an extremely rewarding activity when pursued for its own sake, but in the corporate world it is often reduced to tedium and drudgery.

Financial reward isn't the only way to make someone's life objectively better. A sense of autonomy, freedom to explore and create, and high satisfaction with one's output are just as important, if not more so. Sometimes pursuing a lucrative career is at odds with these other goals.

Re: Need for cognition

#88

Post by marcusverus »

Silverback_VII wrote: post #6

Too much thinking is like a heavy dish, it makes you sluggish and sleepy. Remember that everything that moves quickly and elegantly through the world does so without too much thought.

This immediately brought to mind the song “Dancing Through Life”, from Wicked.

Re: Need for cognition

#89

Post by xyzelement »

fasterik wrote: post #87
xyzelement wrote: post #80

This maps to something I've noticed. There's a pattern where human beings are wired to enjoy things that are important for their survival and thriving, but that these instincts are easily hijacked for aimless gratification. Eating junk food (vs stuff that gives you health and energy) or whacking off to porn (instead of healthy relationships and procreation) are examples of this. Anyway "the need for cognition"... I n…

Lucrative professions have their own ways of hijacking the need for cognition. For example, programming can be an extremely rewarding activity when pursued for its own sake, but in the corporate world it is often reduced to tedium and drudgery. Financial reward isn't the only way to make someone's life objectively better. A sense of autonomy, freedom to explore and create, and high satisfaction with one's output are…

Yes sure, I agree with all that.

I am talking about people who are super smart but whose lives aren't good (agree, I took a narrative shortcut by talking about the financial angle only - it's more than that)

Re: Need for cognition

#90

Post by alpaca128 »

xyzelement wrote: post #80

This maps to something I've noticed. There's a pattern where human beings are wired to enjoy things that are important for their survival and thriving, but that these instincts are easily hijacked for aimless gratification. Eating junk food (vs stuff that gives you health and energy) or whacking off to porn (instead of healthy relationships and procreation) are examples of this. Anyway "the need for cognition"... I n…

> So they are sort of scratching their itch for cognition, but not in a way that makes their life better in an objective way

Maybe they wouldn't enjoy doing it professionally or don't care about "objectively" min-maxing their careers. Nothing wrong with that imho.

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