That message seems in step with the theme of the need to better communicate science, anxieties about basing decisions on black-box AI algorithms, and controversy over how much to take expert opinion on faith.
You know, with Scott’s posts, I often get the impression not that he’s translating a thoughtful model in a language I don’t understand, but that he’s modeling social dynamics that the participants themselves don’t understand.
Take the “right is the new left” post. I really doubt that anyone participating in fashion has anything like that model in mind. Instead, a designer has the demands of a specific segment of society in mind, and tailors their product to suit. They’re not analyzing macro trends to decide how to do their shirts. They have a way of putting out clothes that works for their corner of the industry, in terms of how much it changes year to year, what other shops they look to to.
Even if the macro trends in fashion line up perfectly with Scott’s mode, I don’t think anybody in fashion has the equivalent in their head and is thoughtfully using it to base their decision.
By contrast, I think that Shor and Constance probably both do have models in their head, and that Shor’s mature take on Constance’s model does reflect her thought process.
So I’d distinguish between a translator like Shor and someone like Scott, who’s an analyst but not necessarily a translator.
That message seems in step with the theme of the need to better communicate science, anxieties about basing decisions on black-box AI algorithms, and controversy over how much to take expert opinion on faith.
You know, with Scott’s posts, I often get the impression not that he’s translating a thoughtful model in a language I don’t understand, but that he’s modeling social dynamics that the participants themselves don’t understand.
Take the “right is the new left” post. I really doubt that anyone participating in fashion has anything like that model in mind. Instead, a designer has the demands of a specific segment of society in mind, and tailors their product to suit. They’re not analyzing macro trends to decide how to do their shirts. They have a way of putting out clothes that works for their corner of the industry, in terms of how much it changes year to year, what other shops they look to to.
Even if the macro trends in fashion line up perfectly with Scott’s mode, I don’t think anybody in fashion has the equivalent in their head and is thoughtfully using it to base their decision.
By contrast, I think that Shor and Constance probably both do have models in their head, and that Shor’s mature take on Constance’s model does reflect her thought process.
So I’d distinguish between a translator like Shor and someone like Scott, who’s an analyst but not necessarily a translator.