Once I held passing interest in Mensa, thinking that an org of super-smart people would surely self-organize to impact the world (positively perhaps, but taking it over as a gameboard for the new uberkind would work too). I was disappointed to learn that mostly Mensa does little, and when they get together in meatspace it is for social mixers and such. I also looked at Technocracy, which seemed like a reasonable idea, and that was different but no better.
Now I’m a few decades on in my tech career, and I have learned that most technical problems are really people problems in disguise, and solving the organization and motivational aspects are critical to every endeavor, and are essentially my full-time job. What smoker or obese person or spendthrift isn’t a Type 3, above? Who doesn’t absorb into their lives with some tunnel vision and make type 2 mistakes? Who, as a manager, hasn’t had to knowingly make a decision without sufficient information? I know I have audibly said, “We can’t afford to be indecisive, but we can afford to be wrong”, after I make such decisions, and I mean it.
Reading some of these key posts, though, points out part of the problem faced in this thread: we’re trying to operate at higher levels of action without clear connections and action at lower levels. http://lesswrong.com/lw/58g/levels_of_action/
We have a forum for level 3+ thinking, without clear connections to level 1-3 action. The most natural, if not easy, step would be to align as a group in a fashion to impact other policy-making organizations. To me, we are perfecting a box of tools that few are using; we should endeavor to have ways to try them out and hone the cutting edges, and work then to go perform. A dojo approach helps with this by making it personal, but I’m not sure it is sufficient nor necessary, and it is small-scale and from my newbie perspective lacking shared direction.
Take dieting, for a counter example: I can apply rationality and Bayesian thinking to my dietary choices. I recall listening to 4-4-3-2 on Sat morning cartoons, and I believed every word. I read about the perils of meats and fat, and the benefits of vegetable oils and margarine. I heard from the American Heart Association to consume much less fat and trade out for carbs. I learned from the Diabetes Association to avoid simple carbs and use art’f sweeteners. Now I’ve learned not to blindly trust gov’ts and industries, and have combined personal experience, reading, and internet searching to gain a broader viewpoint that does not agree with any of the above! Much such research is a sifting and sorting exercise at levels 2-4, but with readily available empirical Level 1options, as I can try out promising hypotheses upon myself. As I see what works, and what doesn’t, I can adapt my thinking and research. Anybody else can too.
Would a self-help group assist my progress? Well, an accountability group helps, but it isn’t necessary. Does it help to “work harder” at level 1 alone? No....key improvements for me have come with improving my habits and managing desire, and then improving how I go about improving those. Does it help to have others assisting at level 3 and up? To an extent, it is good to share via e-mail and anecdote personal experiences, books, and thoughts.
The easy part is the vision, though—I want to be healthier, lighter, stronger, and live longer. Seems pretty clear and measurable—weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, 1-mile run time, bench-press pounds.
So what is the vision here? What are our relevant and empirically measurable goals?
Once I held passing interest in Mensa, thinking that an org of super-smart people would surely self-organize to impact the world (positively perhaps, but taking it over as a gameboard for the new uberkind would work too). I was disappointed to learn that mostly Mensa does little, and when they get together in meatspace it is for social mixers and such. I also looked at Technocracy, which seemed like a reasonable idea, and that was different but no better.
Now I’m a few decades on in my tech career, and I have learned that most technical problems are really people problems in disguise, and solving the organization and motivational aspects are critical to every endeavor, and are essentially my full-time job. What smoker or obese person or spendthrift isn’t a Type 3, above? Who doesn’t absorb into their lives with some tunnel vision and make type 2 mistakes? Who, as a manager, hasn’t had to knowingly make a decision without sufficient information? I know I have audibly said, “We can’t afford to be indecisive, but we can afford to be wrong”, after I make such decisions, and I mean it.
Reading some of these key posts, though, points out part of the problem faced in this thread: we’re trying to operate at higher levels of action without clear connections and action at lower levels. http://lesswrong.com/lw/58g/levels_of_action/
We have a forum for level 3+ thinking, without clear connections to level 1-3 action. The most natural, if not easy, step would be to align as a group in a fashion to impact other policy-making organizations. To me, we are perfecting a box of tools that few are using; we should endeavor to have ways to try them out and hone the cutting edges, and work then to go perform. A dojo approach helps with this by making it personal, but I’m not sure it is sufficient nor necessary, and it is small-scale and from my newbie perspective lacking shared direction.
Take dieting, for a counter example: I can apply rationality and Bayesian thinking to my dietary choices. I recall listening to 4-4-3-2 on Sat morning cartoons, and I believed every word. I read about the perils of meats and fat, and the benefits of vegetable oils and margarine. I heard from the American Heart Association to consume much less fat and trade out for carbs. I learned from the Diabetes Association to avoid simple carbs and use art’f sweeteners. Now I’ve learned not to blindly trust gov’ts and industries, and have combined personal experience, reading, and internet searching to gain a broader viewpoint that does not agree with any of the above! Much such research is a sifting and sorting exercise at levels 2-4, but with readily available empirical Level 1options, as I can try out promising hypotheses upon myself. As I see what works, and what doesn’t, I can adapt my thinking and research. Anybody else can too.
Would a self-help group assist my progress? Well, an accountability group helps, but it isn’t necessary. Does it help to “work harder” at level 1 alone? No....key improvements for me have come with improving my habits and managing desire, and then improving how I go about improving those. Does it help to have others assisting at level 3 and up? To an extent, it is good to share via e-mail and anecdote personal experiences, books, and thoughts.
The easy part is the vision, though—I want to be healthier, lighter, stronger, and live longer. Seems pretty clear and measurable—weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, 1-mile run time, bench-press pounds.
So what is the vision here? What are our relevant and empirically measurable goals?