Thoughts of The Week #51

“Thoughts of the week” is a review of the most interesting thoughts I encountered on Twitter and on other mediums during the last week.

1/5: Scientific consensus

“The only people who talk about “scientific consensus” […] are journalists, schoolteachers, and other destroyers of science. Science is a rigorous process against consensus, questioning consensus, and debunking consensus.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

If a hypothesis is wrong, it is wrong because an experimental result counters it, not because it goes against the scientific consensus.

The most important discoveries went against the scientific consensus.

Same for business consensus, artistic consensus, and so on.

2/5: Fragility

“Economies of scale. Coronavirus.” – Joe Norman

Both efficiency and fragility are closely related to the velocity and ease of spreading, at least in their modern meanings.

Increasing efficiency usually increases fragility – it makes it more “efficient” for hazards to spread.

3/5: Objectivity

“Out of controlled games and experiments, objectivity is an illusion.” – Pasquale Cirillo

This is perhaps the most important argument against centralization or against a single solution for a problem encountered by a diverse population.

4/5: Direction

“Boil your blood with something that has an ROI.” – Farbood Nivi

Direct your emotions where it matters.

Easier said than done, of course.

But thinking about how directing them where it didn’t matter did nothing good for your life, is the first step to change.

5/5: Causality

“Never be fooled that what an elite group are doing are the reason they are elite.” – Mark Baker (@guruanaerobic)

The context for the quote above was athletes, but it applies to other fields too.

On one side, the elites got selected partially also due to their habits.

On the other side, the elites had those habits due to a different incentive structure, and, often, have now different habits.

It’s key to being able to differentiate between the two. And if you can’t, you’re better off studying what the elites were doing, rather than what they are doing. And even better: what they were seeking, not what they were doing.

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(Here is my general disclaimer.)

Quotes are edited for punctuation and grammar. Eventual formatting is mine. Also text outside of italicized quotation marks is mine. The inclusion of quotes does not imply my endorsement; merely, that they gave me food for thought. I did not optimize this review for clarity, but for its ability to spark thoughts in the reader.