scav comments on Plant Seeds of Rationality - Less Wrong

33 Post author: lukeprog 10 March 2011 05:51PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Article Navigation

Comments (75)
Tags: rationality

Comments (75)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: Desrtopa 11 March 2011 04:16:33AM *  1 point [-]

The post doesn't draw on any existing knowledge in the area of influencing public opinion. For example, to me it seems pretty evident that public opinion normally flows only in one direction, namely down the social hierarchy of status, and any attempt to change it will be successful only insofar as it changes the influential higher-status levels.

Not invariably. I've certainly had a substantial impact on some of my professors' views on rationality.

Comment author: scav 15 March 2011 09:06:37AM 1 point [-]

Besides, that flow of opinion from high to low status apes is only the default. It's important to be aware of the impact of status on ape behaviour if you want to change things, but mostly so that we can be aware of its effect on us and then question it.

You don't have to influence the opinions of high-status individuals: just influence a few lower-status individuals to weigh those opinions mindfully against the facts. Those then gain status among their peers for their clever and original take on things, re-distributing a little ape-status in the direction of rationality.

Powered by Reddit Powered by Reddit