Note on the definitions: People use the word “meta” to refer to plenty of other things. If you’re in a meeting to discuss Clinton’s electability and someone raises a point of process, you might want to call that “meta” and distinguish it from “object-level” discussion of electability. When I define “meta”, I’m just clarifying terminology in the post itself, not insisting that other posts use “meta” to refer to the exact same things.
An example of something that’s “meta” in a different sense, and that I actually want to see more of in reporting, is “reflection on the process we’re using to generate this story”. E.g., I think it’s good when reporters talk about their probability estimates and their calibration and discrimination track records, are transparent about how they reached a conclusion, publicly discuss and iteratively improve their policies, etc. I think it’s good when people don’t pretend to be Ra-like caricatures of objectivity, and instead are allowed to be human beings striving for objectivity.
It’s similar to the advice I’d give a mathematician: focus on the technical problem you’re thinking about rather than spending a bunch of cycles modeling group dynamics and what’s popular or prestigious; but do take time occasionally to reflect on your reasoning process and see if there are ways to improve your math output.
Note on the definitions: People use the word “meta” to refer to plenty of other things. If you’re in a meeting to discuss Clinton’s electability and someone raises a point of process, you might want to call that “meta” and distinguish it from “object-level” discussion of electability. When I define “meta”, I’m just clarifying terminology in the post itself, not insisting that other posts use “meta” to refer to the exact same things.
An example of something that’s “meta” in a different sense, and that I actually want to see more of in reporting, is “reflection on the process we’re using to generate this story”. E.g., I think it’s good when reporters talk about their probability estimates and their calibration and discrimination track records, are transparent about how they reached a conclusion, publicly discuss and iteratively improve their policies, etc. I think it’s good when people don’t pretend to be Ra-like caricatures of objectivity, and instead are allowed to be human beings striving for objectivity.
It’s similar to the advice I’d give a mathematician: focus on the technical problem you’re thinking about rather than spending a bunch of cycles modeling group dynamics and what’s popular or prestigious; but do take time occasionally to reflect on your reasoning process and see if there are ways to improve your math output.