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Kingreaper comments on LINK: BBC News on living forever, cryonics - Less Wrong Discussion
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Comments (17)
Not by the standards of the majority of the human race.
But yes, if you're discussing something, it's generally worthwhile to investigate it somewhat.
The failure of thought in that quote seems to me to be that she came up with an idea of how it could work, and assumed that was what other people believed. Much like people who hear about evolution and assume it says monkeys turn into men.
Due to finding this idea ridiculous, she didn't bother to find out more, but instead spreads the ludicrous-sounding version she came up with.
I find it hard to be that cynical on a gut level, even if it is accurate. Is there a name for the cognitive bias I'm exhibiting here? If not, I propose "the OH FUCK OH SHIT NO bias".
Are you referring to the issue of whether not knowing about cryonics is ignorance?
If so, it's probably the Typical Mind Fallacy.
People in other spheres might call not knowing about football ignorance, or not knowing about politics, or economics. You know about cryonics, so you consider not knowing about that ignorance.
Information gaps that harm people are not to be less hated for being commonplace. However it does imply is that the person isn't as likely to be the problem. And I can see how the reaction of condescension towards the person might be less likely to result in productive reforms than another reaction.
But if not condescension, then what? How can this gaping hole in the knowledge of most of humankind be filled? Heck, how do we get people to even realize it exists? What is the more appropriate emotion to level at a world that, by and large, just doesn't get it?
Try to educate/interest them? Project "Hey, this is fascinating, and a really cool idea" Talk about things like animals that can do similar for themselves, and how awesome it would be if we could copy them.
Condescension projects "If you agree that this is actually important then you are low status, and I am high status. You can then regain your status by studying up on all the technical details." IOW: Condescension has nothing whatsoever with wanting to help them, or feeling bad for them. It's all about how you're better than them.
The thought you want to elicit in your listeners is not "I'm an idiot"; that won't work anyway. The thought you want to elicit is "Wow, they can actually do that?"
Only once someone has concluded that it's possible is it worth arguing that it's important.