I love this comment, it really helped me think about this.
To explore a little more, I had a small issue with this sentiment.
”Since by my values and temperament I would need to talk about what I found, whichever direction it was, and I don’t see much value in learning these answers, however, I’m not going to look into this. A general commitment to seeking truth doesn’t obligate one to investigate every possible question. I think a lot of people reason this way about low-payoff controversial areas and avoid them.”
I completely agree with this as a guiding principle, and think it should probably usually be the default option for most people. “A general commitment to seeking truth doesn’t obligate one to investigate every possible question.”
I think however that sticking to talking about every truth we find may not be a good idea, and I would bet you probably don’t actually talk about every uncomfortable finding you have com accross. “Since by my values and temperament I would need to talk about what I found, whichever direction it was”
I get the general principle of talking about what we discover along the rather than staying quiet, but I think there can be exceptions. If we do stumble across meaningful uncomfortable outcomes in either through our own research or on the internet or whatever, I think the best option might be to avoid talking about the issue at all. I’m not sure we ever “need” to talk about a research finding.
I agree with this statement “they have two main options: delude themselves into thinking reality is otherwise or accept reality and with it the implications.” but think that in some cases we can accept reality and still choose not to talk about it, oreven think about it very much, especially if talking about it is unlikely to lead to any helpful outcome.
I think the world in general is extremely unfair and there are quite a number of “unfortunate” and awkward truths even outside the realm of genetics, some of which might best to avoid talking about.
You’re right that I don’t have to talk about everything that I find. To take an uncontroversial example, if in my day job I find an easy way to make a bioweapon, I’m not going to blog how to do that.
But if you’re not going to talk about it if you conclude X, are you also not going to talk about it if you conclude not-X? If not then you’re making it much harder for other people to figure out what is true (more).
I feel one is always allowed not to speak about what they don’t want to, but that if one does decide to speak about something, they should never make a statement they know is a lie. This is sad, because depending on the issue and how it relates to your career and other stuff, you might not be able to just keep quiet, and besides, your silence is going to be interpreted uncharitably. People who have shown to consistently value and practice truth-saying should be allowed some sort of leeway, like ‘I will only answer n randomly chosen questions today (n also randomized) and you are not entitled to press further on anything I don’t answer’.
>If we do stumble across meaningful uncomfortable outcomes in either through our own research or on the internet or whatever, I think the best option might be to avoid talking about the issue at all.
You can’t ignore reality this selectively and expect reasonable outcomes. If I have two health problems, but I’m only allowed to treat one because the other is socially unacceptable, the other will get worse and worse. To be clear- I think there’s little value in discussing the whole genetic thing. But I think most people outraged by it are ignoring why it comes up.
If you want to avoid talking about the issue, then you have to move that removal up a level. So we refuse to consider that there are racial differences in genetics- okay, then you need to move that up a level and racial differences in anything are unacceptable topics. No more concern about statistical differences in, say, homeownership, graduation rates, or crime rates. To make certain causes verboten means the symptoms cannot be properly addressed either.
I believe this kind of absolute and strict colorblindness would be an improvement for society. But I suspect that most of the people complaining about Hanania would not agree.
For what it’s worth, I find Hanania an irritating troll and I don’t get the appeal to the Manifest crowd, except in the most cynical manner that he’s a right-winger who mostly shits on other right-wingers. A sort of guilty indulgence, like a comedian who makes jokes mostly about people you already don’t like.
I love this comment, it really helped me think about this.
To explore a little more, I had a small issue with this sentiment.
”Since by my values and temperament I would need to talk about what I found, whichever direction it was, and I don’t see much value in learning these answers, however, I’m not going to look into this. A general commitment to seeking truth doesn’t obligate one to investigate every possible question. I think a lot of people reason this way about low-payoff controversial areas and avoid them.”
I completely agree with this as a guiding principle, and think it should probably usually be the default option for most people. “A general commitment to seeking truth doesn’t obligate one to investigate every possible question.”
I think however that sticking to talking about every truth we find may not be a good idea, and I would bet you probably don’t actually talk about every uncomfortable finding you have com accross. “Since by my values and temperament I would need to talk about what I found, whichever direction it was”
I get the general principle of talking about what we discover along the rather than staying quiet, but I think there can be exceptions. If we do stumble across meaningful uncomfortable outcomes in either through our own research or on the internet or whatever, I think the best option might be to avoid talking about the issue at all. I’m not sure we ever “need” to talk about a research finding.
I agree with this statement “they have two main options: delude themselves into thinking reality is otherwise or accept reality and with it the implications.” but think that in some cases we can accept reality and still choose not to talk about it, oreven think about it very much, especially if talking about it is unlikely to lead to any helpful outcome.
I think the world in general is extremely unfair and there are quite a number of “unfortunate” and awkward truths even outside the realm of genetics, some of which might best to avoid talking about.
You’re right that I don’t have to talk about everything that I find. To take an uncontroversial example, if in my day job I find an easy way to make a bioweapon, I’m not going to blog how to do that.
But if you’re not going to talk about it if you conclude X, are you also not going to talk about it if you conclude not-X? If not then you’re making it much harder for other people to figure out what is true (more).
I feel one is always allowed not to speak about what they don’t want to, but that if one does decide to speak about something, they should never make a statement they know is a lie. This is sad, because depending on the issue and how it relates to your career and other stuff, you might not be able to just keep quiet, and besides, your silence is going to be interpreted uncharitably. People who have shown to consistently value and practice truth-saying should be allowed some sort of leeway, like ‘I will only answer n randomly chosen questions today (n also randomized) and you are not entitled to press further on anything I don’t answer’.
I 100 percent agree with that, which is where the wisdom comes in to choose not speak about many things.
>If we do stumble across meaningful uncomfortable outcomes in either through our own research or on the internet or whatever, I think the best option might be to avoid talking about the issue at all.
You can’t ignore reality this selectively and expect reasonable outcomes. If I have two health problems, but I’m only allowed to treat one because the other is socially unacceptable, the other will get worse and worse. To be clear- I think there’s little value in discussing the whole genetic thing. But I think most people outraged by it are ignoring why it comes up.
If you want to avoid talking about the issue, then you have to move that removal up a level. So we refuse to consider that there are racial differences in genetics- okay, then you need to move that up a level and racial differences in anything are unacceptable topics. No more concern about statistical differences in, say, homeownership, graduation rates, or crime rates. To make certain causes verboten means the symptoms cannot be properly addressed either.
I believe this kind of absolute and strict colorblindness would be an improvement for society. But I suspect that most of the people complaining about Hanania would not agree.
For what it’s worth, I find Hanania an irritating troll and I don’t get the appeal to the Manifest crowd, except in the most cynical manner that he’s a right-winger who mostly shits on other right-wingers. A sort of guilty indulgence, like a comedian who makes jokes mostly about people you already don’t like.