This distinction reminds me of the “survival values vs self-expression values” dimension of the World Values Survey. I’m a bit rusty on those terms, but from skimming a Wikipedia page, I think the “survival” part lines up decently with what you describe as “survival mindset”, but the self-expression part might not line up well with “exploratory mindset”:
Survival values place emphasis on economic and physical security. They are linked with a relatively ethnocentric outlook and low levels of trust and tolerance.
Self-expression values give high priority to subjective well-being, self-expression and quality of life.[1] Some values more common in societies that embrace these values include environmental protection, growing tolerance of foreigners, gays and lesbians and gender equality, rising demands for participation in decision-making in economic and political life (autonomy and freedom from central authority), interpersonal trust, political moderation, and a shift in child-rearing values from emphasis on hard work toward imagination and tolerance.[1]
As for your question: I haven’t thought in terms of survival vs exploratory mindset before, so I don’t think I have a strong view on which is more useful for research (or the situations in which this differs), how often I adopt each mindset, or how I cultivate them. I guess I’d probably guess exploratory mindset tends to be more useful and tends to be what I have, but I’m not sure.
I think parts of Rationality: From AI to Zombies (aka “the sequences”) and Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality have quite useful advice—and a way of making it stick psychologically—that feels somewhat relevant here. E.g., the repeated emphasis and elaboration on “that which can be destroyed by the truth should be”. I have a sense that someone who’s struggling to adopt useful facets of the exploratory might benefit from reading (or re-skimming) one or both of those things.
Yeah, I agree about how well or not well those concepts line up. But I think insofar as I still struggle with probably disproportionate survival mindset, it’s about questions of being accepted socially and surviving financially rather than anything linked to beliefs (maybe indirectly in a few edge cases, but that feels almost irrelevant).
If this is not just my problem, it could mean that a universal basic income could unlock more genius researchers. :-)
This distinction reminds me of the “survival values vs self-expression values” dimension of the World Values Survey. I’m a bit rusty on those terms, but from skimming a Wikipedia page, I think the “survival” part lines up decently with what you describe as “survival mindset”, but the self-expression part might not line up well with “exploratory mindset”:
As for your question: I haven’t thought in terms of survival vs exploratory mindset before, so I don’t think I have a strong view on which is more useful for research (or the situations in which this differs), how often I adopt each mindset, or how I cultivate them. I guess I’d probably guess exploratory mindset tends to be more useful and tends to be what I have, but I’m not sure.
I think parts of Rationality: From AI to Zombies (aka “the sequences”) and Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality have quite useful advice—and a way of making it stick psychologically—that feels somewhat relevant here. E.g., the repeated emphasis and elaboration on “that which can be destroyed by the truth should be”. I have a sense that someone who’s struggling to adopt useful facets of the exploratory might benefit from reading (or re-skimming) one or both of those things.
Yeah, I agree about how well or not well those concepts line up. But I think insofar as I still struggle with probably disproportionate survival mindset, it’s about questions of being accepted socially and surviving financially rather than anything linked to beliefs (maybe indirectly in a few edge cases, but that feels almost irrelevant).
If this is not just my problem, it could mean that a universal basic income could unlock more genius researchers. :-)