I noticed that something is conspicuously missing from this article. Namely, that truth can have disutility as well as utility. There are instances where it is better to not know than to know. For instance, if nazis come to your house looking for Anne Frank, it’s better that they don’t know she is in your attic. It can also be better that someone doesn’t know you don’t like their gift.
Then there are times where the truth can be a hindrance. For example, when I look at the desktop on my computer screen and drag a file to the trash, I am not throwing anything away. I am really manipulating voltages inside the computer, but knowing exactly how I am manipulating those voltages would distract so greatly from the actual task that if I insisted on knowing it before executing the task, it would take forever to get done. I don’t need to know all that to delete a file on my computer because pretending that I am dragging a file to the trash on my screen works better than trying to manually manipulate the voltages on the reductionist level, so that information has disutility to me. I can think of plenty of other scenarios as well such as a cheating wife who otherwise remained faithful besides the one time. Truth could ruin the otherwise happy marriage forever.
What about beneficial mind hacks where one fools themself internally to accomplish some feat that they might otherwise be incapable of accomplishing such as thinking “I can do anything if I really put my mind to it”? Knowing something can even get you killed such as if you learn that the mafia is bribing the mayor or chief of police in your city. Assuming that truth always has utility just isn’t accurate. In most situations truth is useful, but that is just a heuristic, not a universal. Knowing when to use it and when to be able to let go of it is also important. I like to view truth as a useful tool. No matter how useful it may be, it still isn’t the right tool for every single job. This itself is a truth.
I noticed that something is conspicuously missing from this article. Namely, that truth can have disutility as well as utility. There are instances where it is better to not know than to know. For instance, if nazis come to your house looking for Anne Frank, it’s better that they don’t know she is in your attic. It can also be better that someone doesn’t know you don’t like their gift.
Then there are times where the truth can be a hindrance. For example, when I look at the desktop on my computer screen and drag a file to the trash, I am not throwing anything away. I am really manipulating voltages inside the computer, but knowing exactly how I am manipulating those voltages would distract so greatly from the actual task that if I insisted on knowing it before executing the task, it would take forever to get done. I don’t need to know all that to delete a file on my computer because pretending that I am dragging a file to the trash on my screen works better than trying to manually manipulate the voltages on the reductionist level, so that information has disutility to me. I can think of plenty of other scenarios as well such as a cheating wife who otherwise remained faithful besides the one time. Truth could ruin the otherwise happy marriage forever.
What about beneficial mind hacks where one fools themself internally to accomplish some feat that they might otherwise be incapable of accomplishing such as thinking “I can do anything if I really put my mind to it”? Knowing something can even get you killed such as if you learn that the mafia is bribing the mayor or chief of police in your city. Assuming that truth always has utility just isn’t accurate. In most situations truth is useful, but that is just a heuristic, not a universal. Knowing when to use it and when to be able to let go of it is also important. I like to view truth as a useful tool. No matter how useful it may be, it still isn’t the right tool for every single job. This itself is a truth.