Note: I found this article in particular a bit hard to summarize, especially the section “The argument for CoZE”. I find it hard to say what exactly it is telling me, and how it relates to the later sections.
Summary
Comfort is a lack of pain, discomfort, negative emotions, fear, and anxiety, …
Comfort often comes from experience
There’s a gray area between comfort and discomfort that can be worth exploring
Explore/Exploit Tradeoff:
Should you exploit the current hill and climb higher there, or search for a new one?
Problem: there is inherent uncertainty
Exploration is risky for individuals; there is a strong bias toward known paths
Argument for CoZE
Try Things model — cheap, non-destabilizing experiments
The text contains a list of questions that can generate a lot of the “things we might try”.
Problem: We might be uncomfortable with them.
How do we reason through them but also bring System 1 on board, which might have useful insights?
Chesterton’s Fence
In the story, someone destroys an ugly fence, only to then be attacked by an animal behind.
Don’t destroy a barrier before you know exactly why it’s there.
CoZE includes the lessons of Chesterton’s fence
That’s why it’s called exploration instead of expansion
This is the difference to exposure therapy
When exploring the area around the fence, remain alert, attentive, receptive:
Stay open to all outcomes: the fence shouldn’t be there, the fence is exactly where it should be, the fence should be further away or even closer to you…
CoZE Algorithm:
Choose an experience to explore (outside of the current action space, or somewhat blocked, maybe with a yum factor)
Prepare to accept all worlds: both possibilities need to feel comfortable in your imagination
Devise an experiment to “taste” the experience
Try the experiment (Potentially with help of others)
How do the body and mind react?
How does the external world respond?
Digest the experience
Compare the experience to expectations
Should you continue trying something like this? Do not force yourself
Note: I found this article in particular a bit hard to summarize, especially the section “The argument for CoZE”. I find it hard to say what exactly it is telling me, and how it relates to the later sections.
Summary
Comfort is a lack of pain, discomfort, negative emotions, fear, and anxiety, …
Comfort often comes from experience
There’s a gray area between comfort and discomfort that can be worth exploring
Explore/Exploit Tradeoff:
Should you exploit the current hill and climb higher there, or search for a new one?
Problem: there is inherent uncertainty
Exploration is risky for individuals; there is a strong bias toward known paths
Argument for CoZE
Try Things model — cheap, non-destabilizing experiments
The text contains a list of questions that can generate a lot of the “things we might try”.
Problem: We might be uncomfortable with them.
How do we reason through them but also bring System 1 on board, which might have useful insights?
Chesterton’s Fence
In the story, someone destroys an ugly fence, only to then be attacked by an animal behind.
Don’t destroy a barrier before you know exactly why it’s there.
CoZE includes the lessons of Chesterton’s fence
That’s why it’s called exploration instead of expansion
This is the difference to exposure therapy
When exploring the area around the fence, remain alert, attentive, receptive:
Stay open to all outcomes: the fence shouldn’t be there, the fence is exactly where it should be, the fence should be further away or even closer to you…
CoZE Algorithm:
Choose an experience to explore (outside of the current action space, or somewhat blocked, maybe with a yum factor)
Prepare to accept all worlds: both possibilities need to feel comfortable in your imagination
Devise an experiment to “taste” the experience
Try the experiment (Potentially with help of others)
How do the body and mind react?
How does the external world respond?
Digest the experience
Compare the experience to expectations
Should you continue trying something like this? Do not force yourself
Give your system 1 space