Outline: The Rectifying of Maps

post by hamnox · 2022-07-05T05:14:50.036Z · LW · GW · 0 comments

Epistemic status: a hunch that having something like this matters a lot, and a basic outline for people to play with

In my culture, we take updating when we notice an error in our thinking very seriously. We have a cultural toolkit for it. In those moments, we want the comfort of a familiar social script to help us navigate our uncertainty and, importantly, NOT LOSE the update because it could not gain traction in a belief network where incorrect ideas had already entrenched and reinforced themselves. Truly novel thoughts can be so fleeting...

There's a personal update version and a group update version. They differ from each other in smooth degrees more than distinct practice. I think a group update about the rationalist community's relationship to the (very flawed) Sequences NEEDS to happen. I believe it's needed to happen for a while. But, I don't think I'm prepared to facilitate something like that. I need something closer to the personal version first, for myself.

Right now I have a basic outline. Making an announcement for the need of a Rectifying of Maps is the first step on it.

• Name your error to another person, and have them explain it back to you, until two-sided clarity is reached. what did it cause you to mispredict, or how did it fail to constrain your expectations.
• Take a space of 7 deep breaths before, between, and after engagements. Humans need time to form words. Humans need calm to process them.
• Establish a signal to use when you feel satisfied and ready to move on. If there are multiple people involved make sure it is a state you don't mind remaining in for some minutes. Examples: cross fists fingers down in your lap, or offer hands to hold with the person next to you when they are also done. When everyone has signaled completion, say "it is heard" as a call and response.
• Establish container rules. You may speak of your experience, but not of other people's.
• "We begin with the connections pouring into this crux." Make a comfortable silence for contemplation, which you may break momentarily to share thoughts as you feel moved to. Describe the problem(s), hold off on proposing solutions.
• "Where could those connections lead instead?". Toss ideas into the ring. No commitments may be made at this time, only possibilities to consider at leisure. 
• Next, "We continue with connections following from this crux." Another comfortable silence with momentary breakages. We're looking for the beliefs, emotions, actions stemming from a bad assumption. Describe the problem(s), hold off on proposing solutions. Toss ideas into the ring. No commitments may be made at this time, only possibilities to consider at leisure.
• "What new or transformed connections could you make?" Toss ideas into the ring. No commitments may be made at this time, only possibilities to consider at leisure.
• "The behavior which produced an error you discovered may have produced many other errors unseen. What cruxes rhyme with this one?" 
• "What cruxes may you need to examine?"
• "Do you have any requests of each other, now?" I lightly discourage people from trying to report progress or wrap-up, and consider this a load-bearing piece of the process. No public retractions, conclusions, commitment making. Those can be established some other time. But, people will still have work they want to do and people they want to touch in with.
• End with "Now go forth and touch grass."

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