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Swimmer963 comments on Rationality quotes January 2012 - Less Wrong
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Agreed that it's more complicated than either/or. However, I was using it as an example of a "Big Question" that some people believe shouldn't be investigated for fear of damaging moral consequences. To people who see it that way, I think it would be an either/or.
Well, looking too closely at a Schelling point is likely to destroy it, even if the Schelling point was serving a useful function.
That doesn't sound true. I'd go as far as to say it is likely to strengthen it.
Frequently, looking at the Schelling point one will notice it is fundamentally arbitrary, or at the very least be tempted to move it "just a little" in one direction or another.
My model of the local universe differs and I don't believe you. I expect more strengthening than weakening.
Here is an example of the phenomenon I'm talking about, see especially my comment here.
When I consider examples of Schelling points I think of scenarios directly analogous to archetypal examples. The times when you notice that you are playing a coordination game and need to guess what other people will guess that you will guess. When you notice this and start to ask "What is the schelling point here?" you become even more likely to adhere to a common, predictable solution than to follow your own independent whims.
If I'm driving along an isolated dirt road (like those I grew up on) and I'm feeling philosophical I may well notice that the side of the road that I'm driving on is fundamentally arbitrary. Given that a lot of these roads are narrow enough that you drive in the center of the road it becomes a decision of which way to swerve when encountering the occasional oncoming traffic. And if there aren't any cops around to enforce a legal coordination one way is pretty much the same as the other. In fact I know those wacky Americans drive on the wrong side of the road all the time. But when I notice that the situation is arbitrary and start to think about the Schelling point it makes me think "he's going to swerve left and if I swerve right I'm going to @#@% die". Follow the Schelling points, cut this independent thinking nonsense!
That's because you recognize that what you're dealing with is in fact a Schelling point. If one doesn't realize this fact, one will weaken the Schelling point.
Yes, I think this is where we had most of our initial disagreement.