On a somewhat related note, I’ve been contemplating a top-level post on whether paying attention to status is useful for becoming more rational, leaving aside any discussion of whether it is useful for winning; the two issues should be treated very differently, and in the discussion of status on LW that doesn’t always seem to be the case.
One of the reasons that I suggest it is useful is that it allows us to realize how status related biases are changing the way we personally think. Roughly speaking our cognitive biases are either “artifacts, weaknesses and limitations of the way the brain manages to process information” or “things we think that are sub-optimal epistemologically because it helps us bullshit our way to more status”.
Agreed, and I would emphasize that status-related biases can specifically hinder the pursuit of rationality itself. For example, asking people questions seems to often be interpreted as an attempt to lower their status, which seems kind of counterproductive, especially for a community like this one. Really, there are a whole range of common reactions related to the idea of “taking offense” that seem to hinder communication but affect status.
One of the reasons that I suggest it is useful is that it allows us to realize how status related biases are changing the way we personally think. Roughly speaking our cognitive biases are either “artifacts, weaknesses and limitations of the way the brain manages to process information” or “things we think that are sub-optimal epistemologically because it helps us bullshit our way to more status”.
Agreed, and I would emphasize that status-related biases can specifically hinder the pursuit of rationality itself. For example, asking people questions seems to often be interpreted as an attempt to lower their status, which seems kind of counterproductive, especially for a community like this one. Really, there are a whole range of common reactions related to the idea of “taking offense” that seem to hinder communication but affect status.