pnrjulius comments on SotW: Avoid Motivated Cognition - Less Wrong

20 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 28 May 2012 03:57PM

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Comment author: Grognor 28 May 2012 06:09:07AM *  4 points [-]

One of the motivations of motivated cognition is consistency. People want to be predictable and they want to be seen as stable. So I suggest demotivating it. Have people read chapter 3 of Cialdini's Influence. I particularly like the Emerson quote:

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.

Yes! Teach that preferring consistency over accuracy is low-status!

I predict this will have no effect unless coupled with the following technique:

Detachment. You are not your beliefs; you are not your actions: When the opportunity to think arises, within five seconds, think those words.

Comment author: pnrjulius 09 June 2012 12:16:36AM -1 points [-]

Personally I just think Emerson often contradicted himself and didn't want to bother correcting his mistakes, so he came up with a way of making self-contradiction seem deep.