An example of something that’s “meta” in a different sense, and that I actually want to see more of in reporting, is “reflection on the process we’re using to generate this story”. E.g., I think it’s good when reporters talk about their probability estimates and their calibration and discrimination track records, are transparent about how they reached a conclusion, publicly discuss and iteratively improve their policies, etc. I think it’s good when people don’t pretend to be Ra-like caricatures of objectivity, and instead are allowed to be human beings striving for objectivity.
It’s similar to the advice I’d give a mathematician: focus on the technical problem you’re thinking about rather than spending a bunch of cycles modeling group dynamics and what’s popular or prestigious; but do take time occasionally to reflect on your reasoning process and see if there are ways to improve your math output.
An example of something that’s “meta” in a different sense, and that I actually want to see more of in reporting, is “reflection on the process we’re using to generate this story”. E.g., I think it’s good when reporters talk about their probability estimates and their calibration and discrimination track records, are transparent about how they reached a conclusion, publicly discuss and iteratively improve their policies, etc. I think it’s good when people don’t pretend to be Ra-like caricatures of objectivity, and instead are allowed to be human beings striving for objectivity.
It’s similar to the advice I’d give a mathematician: focus on the technical problem you’re thinking about rather than spending a bunch of cycles modeling group dynamics and what’s popular or prestigious; but do take time occasionally to reflect on your reasoning process and see if there are ways to improve your math output.