“the one that happened to accept me” doesn’t sound like a criterion that is strongly correlated with “the one whose views accord most closely with mine”.
Well, I did do my entrance essay on an article by a philosopher who is inordinately popular at the department I just abandoned. I was talking about how he was wrong, but I did communicate that I thought he was worth reading and writing about.
It’s still luck—if I choose a car based on whoever happens to drive past with a “For Sale” sign in the window, the street I’m standing on isn’t a very good determinator of the quality of automobile.
It can, depending on what city you live in. I don’t know if this is at all related to your point, but the street you find a car for sale can be a great indicator of its quality.
Namely, what neighborhood is the car in? Is the street notorious for certain things? A personal example: I would never buy a car I found for sale on Hwy 14. I would buy a car I found for sale on Hwy 110, but only outside of the Loop.
You select them. They select you. Selection effect in both cases.
“the one that happened to accept me” doesn’t sound like a criterion that is strongly correlated with “the one whose views accord most closely with mine”.
Well, I did do my entrance essay on an article by a philosopher who is inordinately popular at the department I just abandoned. I was talking about how he was wrong, but I did communicate that I thought he was worth reading and writing about.
It doesn’t, but the point was about influence vs. selection effects, not different kinds of selection effects.
It’s still luck—if I choose a car based on whoever happens to drive past with a “For Sale” sign in the window, the street I’m standing on isn’t a very good determinator of the quality of automobile.
It can, depending on what city you live in. I don’t know if this is at all related to your point, but the street you find a car for sale can be a great indicator of its quality.
Namely, what neighborhood is the car in? Is the street notorious for certain things? A personal example: I would never buy a car I found for sale on Hwy 14. I would buy a car I found for sale on Hwy 110, but only outside of the Loop.
Yeah, I’ll give you that one. I was imagining choosing the street by, say, walking out your front door, not by the expected quality of automobile.