In any case, I’m not convinced we just have paleolithic brains.
The fact that we’ve got a lot more paleolithic ancestors doesn’t mean there hasn’t been selection and change since then. And we don’t know that much about how they lived.
I believe we have paleolithic adaptations (smallish group living, need for small grained variation (going barefoot on rough ground), need for movement (not exercise!), lowish carb eating, possibly a need to eat insects which is sadly neglected in the modern world), primitive farming adaptations (comfort in hierarchies, tolerance of drudgery, willingness to forgo gratification, tolerance of grains and perhaps a need for them,), and urban adaptations (comfort with strangers, strong immune systems, tolerance of noise and crowding, enjoyment of novelty, ability to handle strong drink). None of these lists are expected to be complete or entirely accurate, but it’s worth noting that to some extent, they’re pulling in different directions.
Good points. I freely admit that my comment which is the sibling of your comment contains many more inferential steps and many more places where you just have to trust my judgement than the most successful conversations on Less Wrong contain. I think that if enough people persist in explaining material that is many inferential steps away from what the majority here believe and accept or if participants just accept such material uncritically because the consequences of the material being valid is so tantalizing, then Less Wrong will become less useful as a place to teach and to learn the kinds of (nifty) things that have been sucessfully taught and learned on Less Wrong.
In other words, I suggest that participants (and voters) embrace the view that it is at the least bad manners and at most toxic to the community for a participant to persist in many long comments over many months which tend to take place too many inferential steps away from what most of us comprehend, believe and accept even if that participant is a successful wielder of the material. (ADDED: and for that reason, I will stop using certain supports from evolutionary psychology even though I have long believed and accepted them).
ADDED. when Eliezer wanted to bring readers many inferential steps, he was careful to take us one step at a time and, after each step, to observe how many comprehended (accepted) it. I humbly suggest that if your name is not “Eliezer”, then if an attempt to take us one step in some direction is not met with widespread acceptance, then you refrain from using Less Wrong to try to take us a second step in that direction.
Well said. This thread is very useful and I think I’ve already learnt a great deal that will help me be more productive. That being said; your right about people’s tendencies to make completely off the wall statements about the underpinnings of human behavior.
I submit that there are people who make it their business to understand other people so that they can manipulate them. These people are sometimes very successful, which indicates that they might know something; if you’re not riding an equally high wave of popularity and love; perhaps you are not qualified to make these assertions regarding humanity’s secret thoughts.
...if you’re not riding an equally high wave of popularity and love; perhaps you are not
qualified to make these assertions regarding humanity’s secret thoughts.
No, the estimated quality of the conclusion should be a function of the quality of the argument and the supporting evidence, not the identity of the arguer. To do otherwise is to commit the classic argument-by-authority or ad-hominem fallacies.
And from the grandparent of this post::
In other words, I suggest that participants (and voters) embrace the view that it is at
the least bad manners and at most toxic to the community for a participant to persist
in many long comments over many months which tend to take place too many
inferential steps away from what most of us comprehend, believe and accept even if
that participant is a successful wielder of the material. (ADDED: and for that reason,
I will stop using certain supports from evolutionary psychology even though I have
long believed and accepted them).
That’s rationalizing groupthink. IMO you should speak the truth as best you can, and change your estimated truth based on the arguments you read and the evidence presented, not on guesses about what your audience is willing to listen to.
How do we know how good the supporting evidence is if we have no way to assay it for ourselves? At that point, aren’t we just forced to take poster’s word for it? That’s not even as good as evaluating their performance because it’s completely results independent. A lot of the time, logical fallacies just come up as an excuse for the poster to say whatever they want without having to back it up.
Assuming that we could see how people implement their own theories, we would have a feedback loop; however, many theories inside less wrong operate inside a vacum. We used to depend on logic to evaluate theories, then we stopped and moved into the scientific method, because pure logic doesn’t work outside of a closed environment. It only works when you have a solid grasp of the intial variables.
That’s rationalizing groupthink. IMO you should speak the truth as best you can, and change your estimated truth based on the arguments you read and the evidence presented, not on guesses about what your audience is willing to listen to.
From your complaint it sounds like they’re forcing you to march in lockstep with everyone while chanting slogans; compared to being asked to back up your assertions.
I thought it was being rational and participating in a process that converges on the truth, and that looks like exactly what they’re proposing to give up. Perhaps you have a different definition?
I don’t think the paleolithic hypothesis is a total waste—it seems to have paid off on going barefoot—but I think it should be used as a source of testable hypothesis, not as a premise for making up explanations of anomalous behavior.
I used to be able to edit my LW comments. Has something changed on the site, or is there a time limit or something?
In any case, I’m not convinced we just have paleolithic brains.
The fact that we’ve got a lot more paleolithic ancestors doesn’t mean there hasn’t been selection and change since then. And we don’t know that much about how they lived.
I believe we have paleolithic adaptations (smallish group living, need for small grained variation (going barefoot on rough ground), need for movement (not exercise!), lowish carb eating, possibly a need to eat insects which is sadly neglected in the modern world), primitive farming adaptations (comfort in hierarchies, tolerance of drudgery, willingness to forgo gratification, tolerance of grains and perhaps a need for them,), and urban adaptations (comfort with strangers, strong immune systems, tolerance of noise and crowding, enjoyment of novelty, ability to handle strong drink). None of these lists are expected to be complete or entirely accurate, but it’s worth noting that to some extent, they’re pulling in different directions.
Is people being unwilling to move away from smoke best explained in terms of paleolithic motivations, or as a result of civilized, and perhaps cultural, overlays?
Good points. I freely admit that my comment which is the sibling of your comment contains many more inferential steps and many more places where you just have to trust my judgement than the most successful conversations on Less Wrong contain. I think that if enough people persist in explaining material that is many inferential steps away from what the majority here believe and accept or if participants just accept such material uncritically because the consequences of the material being valid is so tantalizing, then Less Wrong will become less useful as a place to teach and to learn the kinds of (nifty) things that have been sucessfully taught and learned on Less Wrong.
In other words, I suggest that participants (and voters) embrace the view that it is at the least bad manners and at most toxic to the community for a participant to persist in many long comments over many months which tend to take place too many inferential steps away from what most of us comprehend, believe and accept even if that participant is a successful wielder of the material. (ADDED: and for that reason, I will stop using certain supports from evolutionary psychology even though I have long believed and accepted them).
ADDED. when Eliezer wanted to bring readers many inferential steps, he was careful to take us one step at a time and, after each step, to observe how many comprehended (accepted) it. I humbly suggest that if your name is not “Eliezer”, then if an attempt to take us one step in some direction is not met with widespread acceptance, then you refrain from using Less Wrong to try to take us a second step in that direction.
Well said. This thread is very useful and I think I’ve already learnt a great deal that will help me be more productive. That being said; your right about people’s tendencies to make completely off the wall statements about the underpinnings of human behavior.
I submit that there are people who make it their business to understand other people so that they can manipulate them. These people are sometimes very successful, which indicates that they might know something; if you’re not riding an equally high wave of popularity and love; perhaps you are not qualified to make these assertions regarding humanity’s secret thoughts.
No, the estimated quality of the conclusion should be a function of the quality of the argument and the supporting evidence, not the identity of the arguer. To do otherwise is to commit the classic argument-by-authority or ad-hominem fallacies.
And from the grandparent of this post::
That’s rationalizing groupthink. IMO you should speak the truth as best you can, and change your estimated truth based on the arguments you read and the evidence presented, not on guesses about what your audience is willing to listen to.
I hope you were being sarcastic.
How do we know how good the supporting evidence is if we have no way to assay it for ourselves? At that point, aren’t we just forced to take poster’s word for it? That’s not even as good as evaluating their performance because it’s completely results independent. A lot of the time, logical fallacies just come up as an excuse for the poster to say whatever they want without having to back it up.
Assuming that we could see how people implement their own theories, we would have a feedback loop; however, many theories inside less wrong operate inside a vacum. We used to depend on logic to evaluate theories, then we stopped and moved into the scientific method, because pure logic doesn’t work outside of a closed environment. It only works when you have a solid grasp of the intial variables.
From your complaint it sounds like they’re forcing you to march in lockstep with everyone while chanting slogans; compared to being asked to back up your assertions.
Call it what you will, they believe it has a positive correlation with group success, so I approve of them pursuing such a course of action.
How do we define group success?
I thought it was being rational and participating in a process that converges on the truth, and that looks like exactly what they’re proposing to give up. Perhaps you have a different definition?
I don’t think the paleolithic hypothesis is a total waste—it seems to have paid off on going barefoot—but I think it should be used as a source of testable hypothesis, not as a premise for making up explanations of anomalous behavior.
I used to be able to edit my LW comments. Has something changed on the site, or is there a time limit or something?
If it is the same problem that I had then you will be able to edit it after you click the permalink.