“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.
True, although the student is generally picking the department also.
I don’t know about most people, but I went to the one that happened to accept me.
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.