Martial arts can be a good training to ensure your personal security, if you assume the worst about your tools and environment. If you expect to find yourself unarmed in a dark alley, or fighting hand to hand in a war, it makes sense. But most people do a lot better at ensuring their personal security by coordinating to live in peaceful societies and neighborhoods; they pay someone else to learn martial arts. Similarly, while “survivalists” plan and train to stay warm, dry, and fed given worst case assumptions about the world around them, most people achieve these goals by participating in a modern economy.
As a martial arts enthusiast I have to concur that the practical survivability impact of my training is somewhat limited. In fact, I would go as far as to say that my martial art training is far less likely to save my life than is my previous sporting hobby, running.
The martial arts metaphor for rationality training applies as much to my motives for participation as it does for the training itself. I don’t expect to beat many armed assailants to a pulp in a dark alley and nor do I expect elimitating biasses from my cognition to make a dramatic impact on my success or life satisfaction. However, I relish every opportunity to push both my body and mind to their limits in elegance and performance. I am also attracted to subcultures that tend to non-exclusivity with skill based elitism.
I unashamedly confess that I’d be a rationalist even if it had absolutely no direct benefit (over participation in the activities of any other arbitrary non-rationilist subculture to a similar degree). But at the same time I have to concur with Robin on the best way to go about finding truth.
But for those of us who respect the opinions of enough others to want to work with them to find truth, it makes more sense to design institutions which give each person better incentives to update a common consensus.
Absolutely. There is just something comforting in knowing that if the information I am relying apon is flawed, someone is losing money because of it. It’s even better to know that if you do find flaws you’ll be rewarded for doing so, not hunted down and persecuted as a ‘whistleblower’ or a heretic.
Unfortunately ‘designing institutions’ doesn’t sound like the hard part. The hard part is taking these institutions and making them an active reality. Diluting the influence of authority tends to go against the interests of those in authority, at least how they perceive it. Of course, that particular robotic rampage of human stupidity is not something I personally need to overcome with my own rationalist-fu. I can respect the opinions of Robin et. al. and eagerly keep abreast of their instights and practical solutions.
As a martial arts enthusiast I have to concur that the practical survivability impact of my training is somewhat limited. In fact, I would go as far as to say that my martial art training is far less likely to save my life than is my previous sporting hobby, running.
My krav maga instructor (a bouncer) used to emphasize that 90% of realistic self-defense is about avoiding trouble, and running is a battle-tested survival technique. I think running was the best way to keep your sanity in the Cthulhu role-playing too. So, the first line of self-defense: don’t open that old book, run away and read what people at LW are saying.
90% of actual self defense confrontations involve extremely simple techniques. hard core martial arts training is about beating other martial artists. if you just want practical survival skills you learn the control techniques cops use and just practice.
As a martial arts enthusiast I have to concur that the practical survivability impact of my training is somewhat limited. In fact, I would go as far as to say that my martial art training is far less likely to save my life than is my previous sporting hobby, running.
The martial arts metaphor for rationality training applies as much to my motives for participation as it does for the training itself. I don’t expect to beat many armed assailants to a pulp in a dark alley and nor do I expect elimitating biasses from my cognition to make a dramatic impact on my success or life satisfaction. However, I relish every opportunity to push both my body and mind to their limits in elegance and performance. I am also attracted to subcultures that tend to non-exclusivity with skill based elitism.
I unashamedly confess that I’d be a rationalist even if it had absolutely no direct benefit (over participation in the activities of any other arbitrary non-rationilist subculture to a similar degree). But at the same time I have to concur with Robin on the best way to go about finding truth.
Absolutely. There is just something comforting in knowing that if the information I am relying apon is flawed, someone is losing money because of it. It’s even better to know that if you do find flaws you’ll be rewarded for doing so, not hunted down and persecuted as a ‘whistleblower’ or a heretic.
Unfortunately ‘designing institutions’ doesn’t sound like the hard part. The hard part is taking these institutions and making them an active reality. Diluting the influence of authority tends to go against the interests of those in authority, at least how they perceive it. Of course, that particular robotic rampage of human stupidity is not something I personally need to overcome with my own rationalist-fu. I can respect the opinions of Robin et. al. and eagerly keep abreast of their instights and practical solutions.
Yes, you are right that designing need not be the hard part. So I just changed “design” to “design and field.”
My krav maga instructor (a bouncer) used to emphasize that 90% of realistic self-defense is about avoiding trouble, and running is a battle-tested survival technique. I think running was the best way to keep your sanity in the Cthulhu role-playing too. So, the first line of self-defense: don’t open that old book, run away and read what people at LW are saying.
90% of actual self defense confrontations involve extremely simple techniques. hard core martial arts training is about beating other martial artists. if you just want practical survival skills you learn the control techniques cops use and just practice.