Here’s one example of a change I’ve made recently, which I think qualifies as x-rationality. When I need to make a decision that depends on a particular piece of data, I now commit to a decision threshold before I look at the data. (I feel like I took this strategy from a LW article, but I don’t remember where now.)
For example, I recently had to decide whether it would be worth the potential savings in time and money to commute by motorcycle instead of by car. I set a threshold for what I considered an appropriate level of risk beforehand, and then looked up the accident statistics. The actual risk turned out to be several times larger than that.
Had I looked at the data first, I would have been tempted to find an excuse to go with my gut anyway, which simply says that motorcycles are cool. (I’m a 23-year-old guy, after all.) A high percentage of motorcyclists experience a serious or even fatal accident, so there’s a decent chance that x-rationality saved me from that.
I did the same thing and came to the exact opposite conclusion and have been commuting by two-wheeler for 15 years now.
What swayed me was:
A huge proportion of the accidents involved really excessive speed.
A similarly huge proportion happened to untrained motorcyclists.
So: If I don’t speed (much) and take the time to practice regularly on a track, preferably with an instructor, I have eliminated just about all the serious accidents. In actuality I have had zero accidents outside the track, and the “accidents” on the track has been to deliberately test the limits of myself and the bike. (and on a bike designed to take slides without permanent damage)
The cash savings are higher in Europe due to taxes on fuel and vehicles and the size of the bike is more appreciated in cities that are designed in the middle ages, so the upside is larger too, but it seems that we don’t have anything like the same risk tolerance.
edit: also it is possible that motorcycling is a lot safer in Europe than the US? assuming you are from the US ofc.
Here’s one example of a change I’ve made recently, which I think qualifies as x-rationality. When I need to make a decision that depends on a particular piece of data, I now commit to a decision threshold before I look at the data. (I feel like I took this strategy from a LW article, but I don’t remember where now.)
For example, I recently had to decide whether it would be worth the potential savings in time and money to commute by motorcycle instead of by car. I set a threshold for what I considered an appropriate level of risk beforehand, and then looked up the accident statistics. The actual risk turned out to be several times larger than that.
Had I looked at the data first, I would have been tempted to find an excuse to go with my gut anyway, which simply says that motorcycles are cool. (I’m a 23-year-old guy, after all.) A high percentage of motorcyclists experience a serious or even fatal accident, so there’s a decent chance that x-rationality saved me from that.
Huh.
I did the same thing and came to the exact opposite conclusion and have been commuting by two-wheeler for 15 years now.
What swayed me was:
A huge proportion of the accidents involved really excessive speed.
A similarly huge proportion happened to untrained motorcyclists.
So: If I don’t speed (much) and take the time to practice regularly on a track, preferably with an instructor, I have eliminated just about all the serious accidents. In actuality I have had zero accidents outside the track, and the “accidents” on the track has been to deliberately test the limits of myself and the bike. (and on a bike designed to take slides without permanent damage)
The cash savings are higher in Europe due to taxes on fuel and vehicles and the size of the bike is more appreciated in cities that are designed in the middle ages, so the upside is larger too, but it seems that we don’t have anything like the same risk tolerance.
edit: also it is possible that motorcycling is a lot safer in Europe than the US? assuming you are from the US ofc.
I’m from California, where it’s legal to split lanes. Most places don’t allow that.
I could just decide not to, but the ability to skip traffic that way is probably the single largest benefit of having a motorcycle.
Most states don’t allow that, but in Europe it’s standard practice. I probably wouldn’t bother with the bike if I couldn’t.