I think you have or almost have a point, but it is also true that back when divorce laws favored men more than they do now, men won more of the arguments about small things like who should put out the garbage because their negotiating position was stronger. Specifically, if the husband’s best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) is much more comfortable (for the husband) than the wife’s BATNA is (for the wife) then the husband will tend to take most of the “surplus value” in any positive-sum transaction (and the wife will tend to pay most of the “deficit value” in any negative-sum transaction). The point is that even though divorce is extremely costly for either player (“cost” in the broad sense) it can still have a big influence on small things like who will put out the garbage.
Perhaps the point you wanted to make is that a participant who is comfortable with shades of gray and ambiguity about power relationships will tend to have more influence in this (egalitarian, non-authoritarian) community than a participant who feels the need to ask questions like “Who owns Less Wrong?”
back when divorce laws favored men more [...] men won more of the arguments about small things
I would be very interested in evidence that (1) this was true and (2) that was because of different divorce laws (rather than, e.g., because women’s status was generally lower, leading to both effects).
In any case, supposing for the sake of argument that #1 and #2 are both correct, presumably the mechanism is the one you describe—in which case what matters is not the facts about divorce law but the beliefs of the parties involved about those facts. In the present instance, it seems that what matters is not who actually “owns” the LW wiki, but Phil’s and Eliezer’s opinions about that.
I don’t think Phil’s questions seem much less weird in the light of all this.
Perhaps the point you wanted to make [...]
So far as I can see, that has nothing whatever to do with the point I wanted to make. It’s probably true, though.
I think you have or almost have a point, but it is also true that back when divorce laws favored men more than they do now, men won more of the arguments about small things like who should put out the garbage because their negotiating position was stronger. Specifically, if the husband’s best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) is much more comfortable (for the husband) than the wife’s BATNA is (for the wife) then the husband will tend to take most of the “surplus value” in any positive-sum transaction (and the wife will tend to pay most of the “deficit value” in any negative-sum transaction). The point is that even though divorce is extremely costly for either player (“cost” in the broad sense) it can still have a big influence on small things like who will put out the garbage.
Perhaps the point you wanted to make is that a participant who is comfortable with shades of gray and ambiguity about power relationships will tend to have more influence in this (egalitarian, non-authoritarian) community than a participant who feels the need to ask questions like “Who owns Less Wrong?”
I would be very interested in evidence that (1) this was true and (2) that was because of different divorce laws (rather than, e.g., because women’s status was generally lower, leading to both effects).
In any case, supposing for the sake of argument that #1 and #2 are both correct, presumably the mechanism is the one you describe—in which case what matters is not the facts about divorce law but the beliefs of the parties involved about those facts. In the present instance, it seems that what matters is not who actually “owns” the LW wiki, but Phil’s and Eliezer’s opinions about that.
I don’t think Phil’s questions seem much less weird in the light of all this.
So far as I can see, that has nothing whatever to do with the point I wanted to make. It’s probably true, though.