Why Are Some Groups Worth Protecting? Or Are They?

I happen to think that the reasons for different standards mostly lack any philosophical depth and are instead post-hoc reactions to past injustices. We frown upon racial discrimination not necessarily because racial discrimination is currently worse than any other kind, but because of what it used to be like.

Henry, comment on "The Ethics and Etiquette of Statistical Discrimination" by Bryan Caplan

Going All the Way

This whole society has degenerated into slogan-slinging. We’ve reached the point where trying to address issues in a reasoned and nonconfrontational way is, itself, attacked.

olderwoman, "Stepping Carefully"

The Context of Discovery

I’m pretty sure motivated cognition, when constrained by sound epistemic norms, is one of the mainsprings of intellectual progress.

Will Wilkinson, "Confirmation Bias in Policy Debate"

Decisions, Decisions

"I have certainly had articles rejected, even on occasion for good reasons. . . . I recall on one occasion a referee filing a two paragraph commentary on a paper I co-authored suggesting (in the first paragraph) that the key theorem involved was trivially obvious and (in the second) that it was wrong. I thought on the whole that he ought to choose."

James March, quoted in: Joshua S. Gans and George B. Shepherd, "How are the mighty fallen: Rejected Classic Articles by Leading Economists", Journal of Economic Perspectives 8: 165-179 (p. 174)

Recursive Macroeconomic Theory vs. Hegelian Marxism

My very first economics class ever was auditing a graduate macroeconomics class where we went through the Lucas/Stokey “Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics” and Ljungqvist and Sargent “Recursive Macroeconomic Theory.” I still remember asking my classmates “no seriously, this isn’t what macroeconomics is, is it?” It was like they were training to be electrical engineers, but could do no actual engineering. I still am terrified of what macro graduate students are cooking.

And speaking as someone who has taken graduate coursework in “continental philosophy”, and been walked through the big hits of structural anthropology, Hegelian marxism and Freudian feminism, that graduate macroeconomics class was by far the most ideologically indoctrinating class I’ve ever seen. By a mile.

Mike Konczal, "Blogging and the Economics Profession"

The Utilitarian View of Shyness (and Introversion)

For me the positive of being shy is that I don’t need or crave much time socializing. That frees up tons of my time to actually accomplish things, which then raises my status to the point where people are willing to put in some effort to get to know me. I find that many people who are good at socializing rely way too much on their ability to network to get through life and don’t actually take the time to develop new skills or actually get things done.

Joe Teicher, Comment on "Why Be Shy" by Robin Hanson

I Think He's Wrong about Comedies

Film genres have observable lifecycles. Comedy has survived pretty much unchanged since L'Arroseur Arrosé, like those bacteria that have been alive since before the dinosaurs. Westerns are more like cicadas: they burrow underground for ten years or so, and just when you've forgotten they exist, they're suddenly everywhere. And then there are the mayflies: distinct genres that show up for a few years, have their moment, and end up smeared all over the windshield of history.

L'Avventura is the preeminent example of one of those windshield smears, where you'll also find Last Year at Marienbad, La Dolce Vita, and most of Antonioni's other films. They all share a sort of apocalyptic, exhausted ennui and feature characters who are miserable, wealthy, dissolute, and incredibly well-dressed. Their genre didn't stick around long enough to get an official name, but Pauline Kael called them "The Come-Dressed-As-the-Sick-Soul-of-Europe Parties," and that's good enough for me.

Matthew Desseem, "#98: L'Avventura"

Really?

Secular moderns - in public discourse - 'believe in' things like freedom, or democracy, or equality, or progress - but these are processes, not aims. Aims are retrospectively ascribed to whatever emerges from process.

Bruce Charlton, "The Texas Sharpshooter Society of Secular Modernity"

Can We Call It "The Discrimination Fallacy"?

There's a certain mindset that thrives on exposing discrimination, and this naturally leads to plenty of false positives. There are innumerable disparities in the world; some of them result from discrimination, but the mere existence of a disparity doesn't prove there's discrimination. But leaping to the discrimination conclusion can feel so energizingly righteous that you can be blinded to the downsides of false positives. Pointing out real discrimination is a noble thing, of course, but I think it's wrong (in the moral and factual sense of the word) to tell a group of people that they're being discriminated against to a greater extent than they are. I don't see how this is any less wrong than telling an individual that he or she is despised or being conspired against by people around him or her, unless this is actually true.

John Althouse Cohen, "Can we close the gender gap in some sciences? Should we?"

Beware Naive Falsification

If you are losing a debate but still cannot admit you're wrong, ask for time to ponder upon it. Decide if your hesitation was you being too caught up in the defense of a topic, in which case you only need time to get over it and accept your opponent's arguments, or because there was more relevant information in your mind that you couldn't recall at the moment, in which case you need time for your subconsciousness to bring them to your mind. Be very sceptical of yourself if you disagree with something, but cannot justify it even with time - you might be dealing with bias instead of forgetten knowledge.

Kaj Sotala (Xuenay), "Perceiving the World" (via)

Silence Is Golden

Die meisten Filme verwenden Musik so wie Sportler Anabolika. Ohne Frage kann man durch Musik bestimmte Emotionen erzeugen, genau wie Anabolika Muskeln aufbauen. Es bringt einen Vorsprung, es bringt Schnelligkeit, aber auf lange Sicht ist es ungesund für den Organismus.

Walter Murch, interviewt von Michael Ondaatje (Die Kunst des Filmschnitts: Gespräche mit Walter Murch [Zweites Gespräch; S. 90])

One Theory Is That This Concept Was Invented by Parents

I've never really understood the idea that a "beach read" should be something light and fluffy. On the beach, you can relax, you have the time to get into anything. I could see wanting something light on the subway--you have to be able to get into it right away and follow it amid all the jostles. I guess the point is that when you're at the beach, you're far from the library. So what you really want for the beach is not necessarily something relaxing or easy to read, but rather a sure thing, a known quantity that you'll definitely enjoy.

Andrew Gelman, "Beach Reads, Proust, and Income Tax"

This Post Kept Short Intentionally

To sound intentionally petulant, the only multitasking that works for me is mine, mine, mine! Until I see a study showing that self-chosen multi-tasking programs lower performance, I don't see that the needle has budged.

Tyler Cowen, "Is multi-tasking and modern information technology bad for us?"

Actually, There Aren't Any Proper Teams in the World Cup at All

They’ve annihilated Australia (who are rubbish), lost to Serbia, beaten Ghana, (who were enthusiastic), and beaten England (who played very badly). Argentina had a very bad plan and some defective players.

Germany are fun to watch against poor opposition but against another team of good footballers following a good plan then anything could happen.

cja, comment on "Germany 4-0 Argentina: Germany are getting better and better and better" by Zonal Marking

Probably Not Mainly a Translation Problem

"England have so many top stars in their squad that they will always be part and parcel of the international football scene," Müller said. "But there are so many 'alpha males' in their squad. It is difficult to have so many alpha males and have them row in the same direction. You don't only need chiefs. You also need a few Indians."

Simon Fifield, "World Cup 2010: Thomas Müller claims England not 'mentally prepared'"