Some people tend to stop reading a text whenever they come across blatantly incorrect statements. I mind much less. Yes, the person may be generally mistaken, but they may still have some worthwhile points mixed in.
I try to stop reading whenever I come across sufficiently strong evidence that finishing it will provide less insight per unit time than a cutoff value, which is adjusted based on the length of my reading queue and the marginal value of my time. Blatantly incorrect statements are evidence of this, and if an article says sufficiently wrong things before it offers any novel positions or insights, I do stop reading. As a defense against confirmation bias, I penalize incorrect arguments much more strongly if they argue for positions I already agree with.
I have a mental image of your reading algorithm as Guitar Hero, where an epic solo can correct for some missed notes, but not too many, and you only get so much room to screw up at the start.
I started reading Eckhart Tolle recently (thinking that it would be interesting to understand what sort of instructions/mantras/comforting-claims it is that people find so valuable). Nonsensical and over-broad claims abound.
I enjoy your idea of punishing faulty confirmation of already-held beliefs. It’s good that you’re not absolutely rigid in this, because few people are completely careful in their rhetoric when most incentives favor bold, flashy style.
I try to stop reading whenever I come across sufficiently strong evidence that finishing it will provide less insight per unit time than a cutoff value, which is adjusted based on the length of my reading queue and the marginal value of my time. Blatantly incorrect statements are evidence of this, and if an article says sufficiently wrong things before it offers any novel positions or insights, I do stop reading. As a defense against confirmation bias, I penalize incorrect arguments much more strongly if they argue for positions I already agree with.
I have a mental image of your reading algorithm as Guitar Hero, where an epic solo can correct for some missed notes, but not too many, and you only get so much room to screw up at the start.
I started reading Eckhart Tolle recently (thinking that it would be interesting to understand what sort of instructions/mantras/comforting-claims it is that people find so valuable). Nonsensical and over-broad claims abound.
I enjoy your idea of punishing faulty confirmation of already-held beliefs. It’s good that you’re not absolutely rigid in this, because few people are completely careful in their rhetoric when most incentives favor bold, flashy style.