I’m not saying that we should rage-follow but it’s also unreasonable to believe it’s possible to agree with every single opinion of another person let alone another community as a whole.
This is why when learning guitar I looked up guitar lessons and then looked for people who didn’t believe learning to play guitar was possible at all and the abilities instead were based upon innate talent and genetics! /s
Seriously, if learning was done by discord, then US politics (and cable news viewers) would be full of absolute scholars, instead of, you know, the exact fucking opposite of that.
after your comment, i went back to the top of this post and started reading all the comnents. It’s very interesting to read the arguments from many sides and see the nuances some people bring to the conversation.
Relatedly, if you think social media threads are a great way to learn stuff I don’t know what to tell you other than maybe try picking up a book and see if there’s a difference there.
Occasional disagreement isn’t a bad thing. Provided that the opinions expressed aren’t toxic or dangerous, what’s wrong with hearing an opinion that differs from your own? You don’t have to endorse it, share it, or even comment about it.
No two people are going to agree 100% on everything. Listening to those who disagree with you means having opportunities to learn something new, and to maybe even improve yourself based on new information.
Coming up with a genuinely original idea is a rare skill, much harder than judging ideas is. Somebody who comes up with one good original idea (plus ninety-nine really stupid cringeworthy takes) is a better use of your reading time than somebody who reliably never gets anything too wrong, but never says anything you find new or surprising. Alyssa Vance calls this positive selection – a single good call rules you in – as opposed to negative selection, where a single bad call rules you out. You should practice positive selection for geniuses and other intellectuals.
I think about this every time I hear someone say something like “I lost all respect for Steven Pinker after he said all that stupid stuff about AI”. Your problem was thinking of “respect” as a relevant predicate to apply to Steven Pinker in the first place. Is he your father? Your youth pastor? No? Then why are you worrying about whether or not to “respect” him? Steven Pinker is a black box who occasionally spits out ideas, opinions, and arguments for you to evaluate. If some of them are arguments you wouldn’t have come up with on your own, then he’s doing you a service. If 50% of them are false, then the best-case scenario is that they’re moronically, obviously false, so that you can reject them quickly and get on with your life.
Steven Pinker is a black box who occasionally spits out ideas, opinions, and arguments for you to evaluate.
This is a very weird way to look at people.
Anyone can have an original idea, not just “genuises”. I don’t understand outsourcing your thinking, creativity, and your right to free association because some guy had a good idea once.
(And I don’t think my dad, the inventor of toasters strudle, would approve of this)
I have simpler policies. If someone I’m listening to is annoying and wrong more often than not, then I stop fucking listening to them.
I’m not sure when people started to think that they had to go about life listening to stupid opinions of annoying fuck wads they disagree with. But you absolutely do not have to live life that way.
Steven Pinker is a black box who occasionally spits out ideas, opinions, and arguments for you to evaluate. If some of them are arguments you wouldn’t have come up with on your own, then he’s doing you a service. If 50% of them are false, then the best-case scenario is that they’re moronically, obviously false, so that you can reject them quickly and get on with your life.
Yes. And. The worst-case scenario is: the black box is creating arguments deliberately designed to make you believe false things. 100% of the arguments coming out of it are false - either containing explicit falsehoods, or presenting true facts in such a way as to draw a false conclusion. If you, personally, cannot reject one of its arguments is false, it’s because you lack the knowledge rhetorical skill to see how it is false.
I’m sure you can think of individuals and groups whom this applies to.
(And there’s the opposite issue. An argument that is correct, but that looks incorrect to you, because your understanding of the issue is limited or incorrect already.)
The way to avoid this is to assess the trustworthiness and credibility of the black box - in other words, how much respect to give it - before assessing its arguments. Because if your black box is producing biased and manipulative arguments, assessing those arguments on their own merits, and assuming you’ll be able to spot any factual inaccuracies and illogical arguments, isn’t objectivity. It’s arrogance.
You follow them because you’re interested in their posts and you generally agree on most things. If I follow someone and they start saying FF14 is a good game im not going to unfollow just because I disagree.
Why would you follow someone you disagree with?
Edit: I’m convinced, guys. I should follow racist, Nazi, psychopaths because even if I disagree their words hold value.
I’m not saying that we should rage-follow but it’s also unreasonable to believe it’s possible to agree with every single opinion of another person let alone another community as a whole.
False equivalency and strawman, nice
why would you follow someone you agree with?
if you want to learn, you search discord.
This is why when learning guitar I looked up guitar lessons and then looked for people who didn’t believe learning to play guitar was possible at all and the abilities instead were based upon innate talent and genetics! /s
Seriously, if learning was done by discord, then US politics (and cable news viewers) would be full of absolute scholars, instead of, you know, the exact fucking opposite of that.
guitar example does not work :/
politicians are not genuine in their discourses. Most are there for profit and they say things that even they don’t believe in 🤷
Why would listening to two sides of this help you learn anything? Hearing double the lies will teach you nothing.
after your comment, i went back to the top of this post and started reading all the comnents. It’s very interesting to read the arguments from many sides and see the nuances some people bring to the conversation.
That isn’t all discord.
Relatedly, if you think social media threads are a great way to learn stuff I don’t know what to tell you other than maybe try picking up a book and see if there’s a difference there.
too many assumptions, but thank you anyway
This was pretty discordant, you learn anything from this exchange? 😆
keeps you informed, and it shows open-mindedness
Occasional disagreement isn’t a bad thing. Provided that the opinions expressed aren’t toxic or dangerous, what’s wrong with hearing an opinion that differs from your own? You don’t have to endorse it, share it, or even comment about it.
No two people are going to agree 100% on everything. Listening to those who disagree with you means having opportunities to learn something new, and to maybe even improve yourself based on new information.
Rule thinkers in, not out.
This is a very weird way to look at people.
Anyone can have an original idea, not just “genuises”. I don’t understand outsourcing your thinking, creativity, and your right to free association because some guy had a good idea once.
(And I don’t think my dad, the inventor of toasters strudle, would approve of this)
I have simpler policies. If someone I’m listening to is annoying and wrong more often than not, then I stop fucking listening to them.
I’m not sure when people started to think that they had to go about life listening to stupid opinions of annoying fuck wads they disagree with. But you absolutely do not have to live life that way.
pinker is a very bad guy and we should not be lionizing him for any reason
Yes. And. The worst-case scenario is: the black box is creating arguments deliberately designed to make you believe false things. 100% of the arguments coming out of it are false - either containing explicit falsehoods, or presenting true facts in such a way as to draw a false conclusion. If you, personally, cannot reject one of its arguments is false, it’s because you lack the knowledge rhetorical skill to see how it is false.
I’m sure you can think of individuals and groups whom this applies to.
(And there’s the opposite issue. An argument that is correct, but that looks incorrect to you, because your understanding of the issue is limited or incorrect already.)
The way to avoid this is to assess the trustworthiness and credibility of the black box - in other words, how much respect to give it - before assessing its arguments. Because if your black box is producing biased and manipulative arguments, assessing those arguments on their own merits, and assuming you’ll be able to spot any factual inaccuracies and illogical arguments, isn’t objectivity. It’s arrogance.
You follow them because you’re interested in their posts and you generally agree on most things. If I follow someone and they start saying FF14 is a good game im not going to unfollow just because I disagree.