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Morendil comments on Boo lights: groupthink edition - Less Wrong
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I've made the point that we tend to scrutinize posts/comments more carefully for flaws when they argue against beliefs that we hold, which results in subtly flawed arguments supporting a majority position being voted up despite being flawed, while a similarly flawed argument against a majority position will more likely be discovered as flawed and voted down. This results in the appearance that there are more valid arguments supporting the majority position than there really are, and drives away those who argue against the majority position because they think they are being treated unfairly.
Does anyone disagree with this, or think that Less Wrong voters have already adequately compensated for it? Or, if you think this is a real effect, but shouldn't be called groupthink, what is the right name for it?
Real effect but not full-blown groupthink. For instance, I wouldn't expect people on LW to be accused of "disloyalty". I've said once or twice that I din't think of myself primarily as rationalist, to no raised eyebrows.
I have not always been aware of the technical meaning of groupthink. But even then I was careful to distinguish between group cohesion one one hand, and irrational commitment to failing courses of action (or poisoned beliefs) on the other.
I suspect that we're not criticizing the CraigsList project as harshly as we should. I suggested as much, but there was little follow-up. This strikes me as counterproductive; such a project should be subjected to the harshest tests and launched only if it survives unscathed.
The phrase "insider bias" comes to mind, but I'm not sure it captures what you mean either.
I made one or two skeptical comments on that page, but I didn't criticize the project as much as it deserved. It seemed so obviously nugatory. I didn't want to spend the time and effort thinking about something that I wasn't at all interested in, especially when everyone else seemed so excited about it. I just figured the people who really care about it can do it if they want.
There is a type of selection bias at work here, where people who aren't at all interested in something may not feel the desire to spend time fighting the tide, which then makes the tide appear stronger. There are probably also people who feel this way about cryonics. (Not me: I think it's awesome.)