Probably not. For one thing, what is a “right” or a “wrong” utility function?
More to the point of your translation, Godin says nothing about liking your job, the particular job you have. His point is about being happy with the idea of having a job, with its various entailments: reporting to someone, taking orders, being expected to show up 5 days a week at certain hours, and so on.
His point is that we take these entailments for granted, not because they are somehow the natural order of things, or because we pondered in what social structure we would create the greater amount of value and then picked one with these characteristics; no, we take them for granted because we’ve been brought up to think that way.
I’d think of it as epistemic misfortune. Or, perhaps, if we do end up computing that this type of social contract is such that we produce the greater value, epistemic luck. But Godin’s hunch is the opposite. He thinks people create greater value in different circumstances.
I happen to agree, but I also chose the quote as an illustration of epistemic ill-luck, and for the way he uses the word “brainwashed”—he says he picked that term with consideration, and distinguishes it from training or acclimation; that’s an interesting point, if controversial. The potentially useful idea is something like “epistemic ill-luck arising from vested interests in preserving certain social structures”.
Ferriss’s book, however, isn’t just “Hey, there are alternatives to 9-5, and you ignore them because you’re brainwashed” It’s “hey, there are alternatives to 9-5, and here’s why they’re better, and here’s a step-by-step for how to do it.”
He never used the word ‘brainwashed’ but the sentence would fit in Tim’s book. The main reason that ‘brainwashed’ seems remotely controversial is that we usually use that term to refer to indoctroniation by those who are not of our culture. The other divergent connotation is that the brain must be cleaned of what is already there. The first set of beliefs about how the world should be doesn’t require cleaning the brain of pre-existing dogma before instilling itself.
It’s rather:
When your utility function doesn’t include that the activity that you spent most of your time with has meaning but your utility function rather puts it’s weights on the values of on conformity, safety or money than you must have the wrong utility function.
Is that a fair translation of the point?
Probably not. For one thing, what is a “right” or a “wrong” utility function?
More to the point of your translation, Godin says nothing about liking your job, the particular job you have. His point is about being happy with the idea of having a job, with its various entailments: reporting to someone, taking orders, being expected to show up 5 days a week at certain hours, and so on.
His point is that we take these entailments for granted, not because they are somehow the natural order of things, or because we pondered in what social structure we would create the greater amount of value and then picked one with these characteristics; no, we take them for granted because we’ve been brought up to think that way.
I’d think of it as epistemic misfortune. Or, perhaps, if we do end up computing that this type of social contract is such that we produce the greater value, epistemic luck. But Godin’s hunch is the opposite. He thinks people create greater value in different circumstances.
I happen to agree, but I also chose the quote as an illustration of epistemic ill-luck, and for the way he uses the word “brainwashed”—he says he picked that term with consideration, and distinguishes it from training or acclimation; that’s an interesting point, if controversial. The potentially useful idea is something like “epistemic ill-luck arising from vested interests in preserving certain social structures”.
For a similar point of view read Timothy Ferriss: “The 4-hour work week”.
Ferriss’s book, however, isn’t just “Hey, there are alternatives to 9-5, and you ignore them because you’re brainwashed” It’s “hey, there are alternatives to 9-5, and here’s why they’re better, and here’s a step-by-step for how to do it.”
He never used the word ‘brainwashed’ but the sentence would fit in Tim’s book. The main reason that ‘brainwashed’ seems remotely controversial is that we usually use that term to refer to indoctroniation by those who are not of our culture. The other divergent connotation is that the brain must be cleaned of what is already there. The first set of beliefs about how the world should be doesn’t require cleaning the brain of pre-existing dogma before instilling itself.
It’s rather: When your utility function doesn’t include that the activity that you spent most of your time with has meaning but your utility function rather puts it’s weights on the values of on conformity, safety or money than you must have the wrong utility function.