To continue his line of argument, evolution has gifted us with social instincts superior to our best attempts at rationality. Allowing bias to have its way with us will make us better off socially than we could be otherwise, provided that certain other conditions are met. Forcing flawed attempts at rationality into our behavior may well just corrupt the success of our instincts.
I think I would sort of believe that, with some caveats. For individuals who are good looking and good conversationalists and who value social success over anything else, it probably makes sense to avoid rationality training, as there’s only a chance it can hurt you. So I agree with him in cases like that. But for other individuals, such as those who are unattractive or who are bad conversationalists or who value things other than social success, rationality might be the best strategy, because there’s only a chance it can help you. Learning about biases can hurt you, similarly, making your ability to predict things more rigorous can do the same.
I’m uncertain as to how much I believe that, but I believe the general idea is at least non-obviously false, and that the idea is ultimately more true than false. I believe most people would not do well if they suddenly started working on improving their rationality and predictive accuracy.
To continue his line of argument, evolution has gifted us with social instincts superior to our best attempts at rationality. Allowing bias to have its way with us will make us better off socially than we could be otherwise, provided that certain other conditions are met. Forcing flawed attempts at rationality into our behavior may well just corrupt the success of our instincts.
I think I would sort of believe that, with some caveats. For individuals who are good looking and good conversationalists and who value social success over anything else, it probably makes sense to avoid rationality training, as there’s only a chance it can hurt you. So I agree with him in cases like that. But for other individuals, such as those who are unattractive or who are bad conversationalists or who value things other than social success, rationality might be the best strategy, because there’s only a chance it can help you. Learning about biases can hurt you, similarly, making your ability to predict things more rigorous can do the same.
I’m uncertain as to how much I believe that, but I believe the general idea is at least non-obviously false, and that the idea is ultimately more true than false. I believe most people would not do well if they suddenly started working on improving their rationality and predictive accuracy.