Rationality is hard enough when you’re talking about simple topics about which a lot of information is known, like quantum physics. But politics is an extremely complicated subject, and there is a lot of unknown and missing information and this is by design. To give one example, during the cold war the US military did not often reveal the full extent of its capabilities, and this lead the public to be excessively fearful of the Soviet Union. Presidents were often criticised for lack of military buildup and taking a ‘soft’ stance. It was partly due to this kind of pressure that, for instance, the existence of the SR-71 spy plane was declassified. Declassified intelligence reports now indicate that American offensive, defensive, and espionage capabilities were far ahead of the Soviets. The US had more missiles, faster aircraft, and much better stealth capabilities.
So now consider the level of sophistication required for a rational debate on politics. You have to have a good grasp of human psychology, something which is hard enough in itself. You have to have a handle on all the various things that are going on in the world, and this is usually just impossible unless you’re someone like the POTUS. You just don’t have access to the information. And finally, you need to be able to wrestle all of this information and analyze things in a rational, evidence-based way, continuously updating your beliefs and fighting the ever-present mind-killing forces that are present in your brain. This is Hard, and to think we are capable of doing all three of these things is unrealistic. That’s the main reason I don’t think LW is a good place for political discussion, although I’m sure I don’t speak for everyone.
I don’t understand if you think that there are better place for discussing rationality about politics and international topics, in which case I gladly accept suggestion, or that politics should be avoided at all. The second attitude seems… I’m at lost for words… seems like trying to shut your eyes hoping that the monster will go away.
The fact that it’s hard I think it’s precisely the reason why it should be talked at all, although I agree not necessarily on LW (but in that case, where?).
ETA: And I still think that this post has produced interesting and useful discussions.
Rationality is hard enough when you’re talking about simple topics about which a lot of information is known, like quantum physics. But politics is an extremely complicated subject, and there is a lot of unknown and missing information and this is by design. To give one example, during the cold war the US military did not often reveal the full extent of its capabilities, and this lead the public to be excessively fearful of the Soviet Union. Presidents were often criticised for lack of military buildup and taking a ‘soft’ stance. It was partly due to this kind of pressure that, for instance, the existence of the SR-71 spy plane was declassified. Declassified intelligence reports now indicate that American offensive, defensive, and espionage capabilities were far ahead of the Soviets. The US had more missiles, faster aircraft, and much better stealth capabilities.
So now consider the level of sophistication required for a rational debate on politics. You have to have a good grasp of human psychology, something which is hard enough in itself. You have to have a handle on all the various things that are going on in the world, and this is usually just impossible unless you’re someone like the POTUS. You just don’t have access to the information. And finally, you need to be able to wrestle all of this information and analyze things in a rational, evidence-based way, continuously updating your beliefs and fighting the ever-present mind-killing forces that are present in your brain. This is Hard, and to think we are capable of doing all three of these things is unrealistic. That’s the main reason I don’t think LW is a good place for political discussion, although I’m sure I don’t speak for everyone.
I don’t understand if you think that there are better place for discussing rationality about politics and international topics, in which case I gladly accept suggestion, or that politics should be avoided at all. The second attitude seems… I’m at lost for words… seems like trying to shut your eyes hoping that the monster will go away.
The fact that it’s hard I think it’s precisely the reason why it should be talked at all, although I agree not necessarily on LW (but in that case, where?).
ETA: And I still think that this post has produced interesting and useful discussions.
http://lesswrong.com/lw/ly4/political_topics_attract_participants_inclined_to/c6tc