I think I haven’t necessarily been particularly clear about what my plan is: I am not giving up on politics. I am not declaring myself, from here on out or even for this year, completely apolitical. What I’m doing is forbidding myself from expressing political positions or arguments for the year, but not from taking an interest in politics. The gambit is designed to avoid having my opinions determined by loyalty to a group or position, and the feeling that, if I change my mind, I’m a traitor—it’s designed to make it so that whether or not I get the right answer, I’m not going to get credit for it anyway. I’m trying to free myself up to change my mind if I need to, without worries about what my in-group will think of my new opinions.
I think I haven’t necessarily been particularly clear about what my plan is: I am not giving up on politics. I am not declaring myself, from here on out or even for this year, completely apolitical. What I’m doing is forbidding myself from expressing political positions or arguments for the year, but not from taking an interest in politics. The gambit is designed to avoid having my opinions determined by loyalty to a group or position, and the feeling that, if I change my mind, I’m a traitor—it’s designed to make it so that whether or not I get the right answer, I’m not going to get credit for it anyway. I’m trying to free myself up to change my mind if I need to, without worries about what my in-group will think of my new opinions.