On the automation of wisdom -
Norman Douglas:
“There are some things you can’t learn from others. You have to pass through the fire.”
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Meta question - I volunteer with EA Data Science so this content is useful to me. How does subscribing to a tag work exactly? It seems like it just make posts more likely to appear on my frontpage or is there a more reliable way to check for updates? I could just keep checking the tag or try wrestling with some RSS feed or similar, but I'd like to know if there is a more native way of getting updates.
Yes, let me try this rephrase. The average American who currently drinks casually in social settings may be behaving so because they think everyone else is drinking and this would be considered normal behavior. Sharing a statistic that nearly half of American do not drink regularly (as defined by the CDC) shows that it is also normal behavior to go out and not drink.
I think this is a positive reinforcement for not drinking. On the other hand, I would say warning people they should not drink because there is a 14% chance they may become an alcoholic is negative reinforcement, which could lead to backlash or otherwise be questioned. It could be questioned if occasional drinking is the sole and direct cause for alcoholism. Rather, most cases probably arise from a combination of drinking and genetic prevalence, family influence, social norms, body type, stress triggers, and other factors. This could open the door to people deciding such scenarios don't apply to them.
What stat are you working off of for people who become alcoholics?
I meant for the stat of non-drinkers to be a positive signal for the general population to choose not to drink and still feel normie. I believe there are hopeful stories of people beating alcoholism through behavior change such as moving to a new place where their identity is not tied to drinking. So I feel like stats don't tell us everything.
Hi Peter,
In Famine, Affluence, and Morality, you put forth a position that it should not matter if we help the child who is a neighbor or the child ten thousand miles away. Is this a strongly held conclusion or a position you want people to continue to debate?
You mentioned you were fortunate enough that Princeton allows you to teach one semester a year and so you have 8 months to spend with your grandkids. One could argue there are many more children in Trenton, NJ that would benefit from your mentorship. This is where I disagree with consequentialism. I believe we should care a lot about the people close to us and collectively we can make sure everyone is cared for.
Thanks for your hard work!