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Keep Your Identity Small

paulgraham.com

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Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#101

Post by socialarchetype »

gnaritas wrote: post #86
just_me wrote: post #70

Until I moved to San Francisco ten years ago my identity was wrapped up in my home region of my home state. SF was where I finally let it go. I can perfectly remember the moment I realized I could. How exhilarating that was! And it started a landslide. I'll bet I don't have 10% the identity I did back then. (It helped that I had long before figured out that when people speak of "X pride" or "Proud to be X", it means…

> This is such a ridiculously brilliant essay. Um.. I think that's going a bit far. Interesting take on well known fact that people who identify heavily with something aren't very rational about being challenged on it, but "ridiculously brilliant", I think not.

this is a discussion of identity politics. it's old hat. seriously, the hat is in its forties. there are entire disciplines in academia devoted to questions about the function of identity in contemporary american society. that said, it's well-written and provocative. what is actually smart here is not the old-ass idea, it is the application of that idea to a question/problem that regular readers of the internet forums commonly have. for that, this is commendable. i never would have thought i would have found a discussion of identity here and i am impressed by this community's genuine interest.

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#102

Post by frisco »

The essay reminded me of the blog "Overcoming Bias," the whole point of which I believe is that by removing these minor biases that we pick up as part of ourselves we can become more rational, smarter people.

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#103

Post by gruseom »

It's interesting that an essay about how to avoid religious arguments should center around a timeless spiritual principle. (I wouldn't say it's ironic, though; what's ironic is how people turn religions into their opposites and still call them the same thing.) This principle (of non-identification) is also very practical. It's amazing to me how often suffering comes from saying "I am X", therefore "I am negated if X is negated". The converse is also true: it's amazing how much more freely one can live when one doesn't do that.

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#104

Post by gruseom »

ajju wrote: post #91
zaidf wrote: post #47

This essay reminds me of this bollywood song: Bulla Ki Jaana Not a believer inside the mosque, am I Nor a pagan disciple of false rites Not the pure amongst the impure Neither Moses, nor the Pharoh Bulleh! to me, I am not known ... Secrets of religion, I have not known From Adam and Eve, I am not born I am not the name I assume Not in stillness, nor on the move Bulleh! to me, I am not known Full lyrics: http://www.ly…

It is astounding how little this liberal face of Islam is known outside of the Indian subcontinent and possibly the educated populace of Iran.

Well, Rumi is the best-selling poet in the United States. Rightly so, too: the Sufi poets are as great as any poetry ever written, I think, and can be astonishingly modern. That being said, I have the impression that they are distinctly non grata in the vast majority of the Muslim world. No?

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#105

Post by kajecounterhack »

pg wrote: post #92
astine wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that statement bothered me to. People seeming to assume that just because a vocal minority of a group believe something, that all members of the group believe the same thing. This especially includes people who's expressed ideology hopes to avoid prejudice and bigotry. Thought I don't think PG, really thinks all Evangelicals are YECs. at least I hope he doesn't.

My mistake. I changed it to "a biblical literalist."

Thanks so much paul, I really appreciate that.

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#106

Post by gruseom »

DaniFong wrote: post #74

One trouble with following this line of reasoning to its limits is simply that one doesn't have an endless supply of mental energy. It is not merely easier to mark something about yourself as known and solid, and move on; it also frees cycles for other things. One simply can't go about life questioning every action in terms of its relationship to values which you are supposed to figure out. It's too hard. So, perhaps…

I don't see how it consumes mental energy to be less judgmental and make fewer identifications. If anything, the opposite is the case. Carrying a heavy identity takes a lot of energy: you have to defend yourself against anyone criticizing any piece of it.

As for "following this line of reasoning to its limits", there are very few people who have. I came to the conclusion it was better not to try, as such; you're most likely to end up in self-deception if you do.

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#107

Post by menloparkbum »

froo wrote: post #69
menloparkbum wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The notion that it is impolite to discuss politics and religion is a staple bit of folk wisdom dispensed by parents, grandparents, various other elders, and barkeeps the world over.

The notion that it is impolite to discuss politics and religion is a staple bit of folk wisdom dispensed by parents, grandparents, various other elders, and barkeeps the world over. ...but it's not a universal piece of folk wisdom. In fact it's the significant minority When you consider 68% of the world of the world is composed under the belief structures of the 3 primary religions (christianity, islam, hinduism) and…

My grandfather gave me that advice, and he's a member of the clergy. There are varying levels of social sophistication amongst religious people. In general those born into some sort of longstanding cultural religion tend to not bring it up in polite conversation. It's the newly converted noobs, or perhaps a crazy aunt, who ruin the dinner party.

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#108

Post by barrkel »

> There are certainly some political questions that have definite answers, like how much a new government policy will cost.

Even this statement is not true. Government policies may have costs and benefits; the true cost needs to take into account the net position, so a myopic focus on costs is disingenuously partisan.

Re: Keep Your Identity Small

#109

Post by SapphireSun »

This is an interesting concept, and it makes a lot of sense to me.

A lot of people ask me of what ancestry I am and usually I tell them "I dunno.". The usually are incredibly surprised by this answer and I usually reply with something like, "I don't care whom came before me, because it has no effect on me now, and it can only bias my thinking."

The exceptions to this idea, for instance it is very useful to know whom begat you for genetic counseling, but on the whole, this policy makes it so that the only labels that affect my life are the obvious ones - unless I make an effort to introduce new ones.

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