Former software entrepreneur, I now advise businesses, play the stock market, and attempt non-fiction writing
bfinn
Karma: 89
Very interesting—by pure chance I spent this morning thinking about this topic (from a position of relative ignorance). I look forward to the rest of the series!
Rationality of demonstrating & voting
Not sure this follows. If we’re capable of intelligently working out what’s good for us, that makes us able to work out how to avoid the pain. But it doesn’t seem a good reason for evolution to reduce the pain, as that would reduce the incentive for us to try to avoid it.
I agree. I’m extremely wary of suggestions that you can compare the strength of children & adults’ emotions/pain from their behaviour (or perhaps any other way). So it seems to me the only reasonable assumption is that they are the same for all humans who are fully conscious. (I.e. possibly lower for young babies, some mentally disabled; though the precautionary principle suggests we shouldn’t assume this.)
A very interesting post (as was the previous one). On this point:
I expect in fact it’s a large march where they make the most difference.
I model my guess at the likely curve shape and resulting benefit in a recent post, Rationality of demonstrating & voting.