Live data from Hacker News

Self-control signals and affords power

today.ucsd.edu

131–137 of 137 posts

Re: Self-control signals and affords power

#132
post #91

This article mentions a study that found almost no correlation between people who self-report having high self-control, and people who actually do well on tests measuring self-control: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/1/15/16863374/wi... The most likely explanation is that people who report high self-control are really experiencing less temptation.

How in the world does a test of 'does this colored text match its name' test 'self-control'. 'Self-control' as used in the article means things like 'can you stick to a diet', or 'can you keep your word', not can you control your thought processes enough to quickly name a color. You can be highly self disciplined and bad at this task, or highly undisciplined and good at it. In fact, I'd imagine undisciplined people m…

It's classic 'executive function' measurement.

You have to stay on task (say the color not the word) and this requires a bit of working memory (what was the task?) and requires inhibition of the 'fast system' (system 1, which would just blurt out something), all associated with the PFC (prefrontal cortex).

Obviously it's not perfect, but at least very simple, quantitative, cheap, etc.

Re: Self-control signals and affords power

#133

Makes you wonder why the stereotype of the "Playboy"-type billionaire who is slave to his desires has been pushed and accepted for long, when it's plainly false.

Is it plainly false in your circles? In mine, only one acquired (economic) power; all the rest inherited, and they do tend more to the playboy stereotypes. (But this dichotomy may largely be due to the fact that only the former is a nerd?)

Wait 10-20 years and re-evaluate which of them is successful and which isn't.

Re: Self-control signals and affords power

#134
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure whether or not I agree with what you're saying, but I will offer that Punish The Contrarian is the most popular free-to-play MMORPG game online, because all players who choose the Punisher role start with a free +1 point bonus against those who don't, so it feels like one is winning simply by showing up to play.

I'm not really sure who is supposed to be the contrarian in this particular instance of that game in your view, but here I feel that this person neither is trying to punish me for contrary views or express any of their own, but is merely repeatedly nitpicking my phrasing without engaging with the substance of the comments they're replying to, a widespread mode of argumentation that I find as annoying as it is vapid

that behavior is indeed what i call Punish the Contrarian. As opposed to, eg, engage with the contrarian or debate the contrarian. This nitpicking tactic is not an argument at all but just an attempt to discourage the target from future attempts to present their position by exhausting their motivation to articulate it.

Re: Self-control signals and affords power

#135
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not really sure who is supposed to be the contrarian in this particular instance of that game in your view, but here I feel that this person neither is trying to punish me for contrary views or express any of their own, but is merely repeatedly nitpicking my phrasing without engaging with the substance of the comments they're replying to, a widespread mode of argumentation that I find as annoying as it is vapid

that behavior is indeed what i call Punish the Contrarian. As opposed to, eg, engage with the contrarian or debate the contrarian. This nitpicking tactic is not an argument at all but just an attempt to discourage the target from future attempts to present their position by exhausting their motivation to articulate it.

Ah, that makes sense. I'm pretty sure it's all a lot of internet denizens can manage on difficult topics so I've met it frequently enough to find it merely annoying rather than exhausting. It's occasionally fun to use it to force myself to think through a position in more detail, but I know I can just ignore it and walk away if I can't spare the time. It's no substitute for an actual conversation with a thoughtful person of course, but it can be a useful exercise. Kind of the predecessor to talking to chatbots. Hell, these days I'm sure a lot of them are using chatbots

Re: Self-control signals and affords power

#136
post #132
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How in the world does a test of 'does this colored text match its name' test 'self-control'. 'Self-control' as used in the article means things like 'can you stick to a diet', or 'can you keep your word', not can you control your thought processes enough to quickly name a color. You can be highly self disciplined and bad at this task, or highly undisciplined and good at it. In fact, I'd imagine undisciplined people m…

It's classic 'executive function' measurement. You have to stay on task (say the color not the word) and this requires a bit of working memory (what was the task?) and requires inhibition of the 'fast system' (system 1, which would just blurt out something), all associated with the PFC (prefrontal cortex). Obviously it's not perfect, but at least very simple, quantitative, cheap, etc.

And it has nothing to do with projecting power. There is a clear difference from this and (for example) being able to hold a diet.

Re: Self-control signals and affords power

#137
post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's classic 'executive function' measurement. You have to stay on task (say the color not the word) and this requires a bit of working memory (what was the task?) and requires inhibition of the 'fast system' (system 1, which would just blurt out something), all associated with the PFC (prefrontal cortex). Obviously it's not perfect, but at least very simple, quantitative, cheap, etc.

And it has nothing to do with projecting power. There is a clear difference from this and (for example) being able to hold a diet.

Staying calm in stressful situations is very powerful.

Power is about managing conflicts, being able to control yourself while going through one is a huge advantage. Being able to evaluate your options, using the right amount of time for decision making, thinking through what you are actually going to say before starting to speak, these are all skills that depend on self-control.

Yes, it's not 1:1 power, but as the submission title states, it signals it. (Hence the movie cliches about extremely cool guys, don't even flinch while an explosion is going on, and the memes about how millenials flinch when the phone rings, etc.)

Post reply on HN