Posts

The Paperclip [Link] 2012-07-28T09:14:52.553Z
[LINK] Serotonin Transporter Genotype (5-HTTLPR) Predicts Utilitarian Moral Judgments 2011-10-24T09:28:22.351Z

Comments

Comment by HumanFlesh on Is arguing worth it? If so, when and when not? Also, how do I become less arrogant? · 2014-12-01T06:26:55.632Z · LW · GW

Could you give an example of "three reasons why [x] is good, and one broader conceptual reason why it might not be”? I’m not sure I follow.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why is it rational to invest in retirement? I don't get it. · 2013-05-20T18:26:32.998Z · LW · GW

Now I have no idea what it means.

To 'Flip a coin' is to choose randomly between two options.

Comment by HumanFlesh on post proposal: Attraction and Seduction for Heterosexual Male Rationalists · 2012-12-17T12:47:52.035Z · LW · GW

I prefer the term 'endowed' because our adaptations are often sub-optimal.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Clarification: Behaviourism & Reinforcement · 2012-10-12T05:10:25.611Z · LW · GW

You may want to distinguish classical conditioning from operant conditioning.

Comment by HumanFlesh on [SEQ RERUN] The Comedy of Behaviorism · 2012-07-22T21:39:31.698Z · LW · GW

Behavioral science and cognitive science had a turf war over control of psychology departments in the mid-twentieth century. We like to recite the criticisms that became tropes in that war in order to pat ourselves on the back.

Comment by HumanFlesh on [link] Cargo Cult Debugging · 2012-07-20T11:59:52.805Z · LW · GW

The link contends the terminology used to describe superstitious behaviour. It doesn't claim that an arbitrary schedule of reinforcement has no effect on the pigeon behaviour.

Comment by HumanFlesh on [link] Cargo Cult Debugging · 2012-07-16T07:23:47.223Z · LW · GW

Cite please.

Skinner avoided appeals to internal states and demonstrated how schedules of reinforcement affected behaviour.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Non-theist cinema? · 2012-01-09T19:13:18.519Z · LW · GW

I liked Frailty. Without giving too much away, it demonstrates how any agent with god-like powers could make you believe whatever it wants you to believe. Therefore if you ever find yourself in a universe in which gods and powerful demons exist and have an interest in influencing your life, you could fall into a situation where you have no means of determining which gods or demons are best aligned with your long-term goals. Also, a sufficiently cogent propaganda campaign could have a good chance of convincing you to commit atrocities.

Comment by HumanFlesh on [LINK] Serotonin Transporter Genotype (5-HTTLPR) Predicts Utilitarian Moral Judgments · 2011-10-24T14:32:32.591Z · LW · GW

Sorry about the redundant post. I would delete it, but I feel that Jayson_Virissimo's comment is worth archiving.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Improving My Writing Style · 2011-10-12T16:09:33.973Z · LW · GW

You are right. However, I don't think the advice was meant to be used to evaluate weather or not a given essay is boring. I found it helpful because it provided a simple rule that I used to change my writing habits. I had a vague sense that some of my sentences were stilted, but I didn't know how to remedy that problem. Not everyone will get the same utility from creative restrictions, but I find them inspiring.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Improving My Writing Style · 2011-10-12T12:57:40.596Z · LW · GW

I found this discussion of the passive voice helpful.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Rationality Lessons Learned from Irrational Adventures in Romance · 2011-10-07T13:07:38.655Z · LW · GW

I know a woman whose husband had been taking her office supplies, leaving her to think that her memory was seriously erratic.

That's called gaslighting.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Weight training · 2011-08-30T02:08:54.693Z · LW · GW

Hypertrophy Specific Training lists research that supports their training regimens.

Comment by HumanFlesh on [deleted post] 2011-07-15T14:13:40.024Z

People generally respect doctors. Medical intervention can lend legitimacy to a condition.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Separate morality from free will · 2011-04-10T10:25:44.879Z · LW · GW

If punishing tornados changed their behaviour, then we would try to punish tornados. An event appears to be intentional (chosen) when it's controlled by contingencies of reward and punishment.

There are exceptions to this characterisation of will. When there is a power imbalance between those delegating rewards and punishments and those being influenced by rewards and punishments, the decision is sometimes seen as less than free, and deemed exploitation. Parents and governments are generally given more leeway with regards to power imbalances.

When particular rewards have negative social consequences, they're sometimes called addictive. When particular punishments have negative social consequences, their use is sometimes called coercive and/or unjust.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Intellectual Hipsters and Meta-Contrarianism · 2010-09-15T12:15:22.403Z · LW · GW

Mephedrone clinics? Do you mean methadone clinics?

Comment by HumanFlesh on The Social Coprocessor Model · 2010-05-18T19:15:12.822Z · LW · GW

That's true, however people with severe hearing loss can often hear faint sounds provided the sounds contain frequencies that stimulate the cilia in their cochlea that remain undamaged. A person with normal hearing will tend to tolerate more audio interference than a hearing impaired person.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Rationality quotes: May 2010 · 2010-05-01T08:21:23.981Z · LW · GW

Are you implying that Jesus' crucifixion was an example of suicide via cop?

Comment by HumanFlesh on What are our domains of expertise? A marketplace of insights and issues · 2010-04-29T06:46:53.833Z · LW · GW

If you show me a photo of a non-modular analog synthesizer manufactured between the years 1971-1995, there is a good chance that I can name it and tell you how many oscillators it has.

Comment by HumanFlesh on CogSci books · 2010-04-20T15:20:50.945Z · LW · GW

Physiology of Behavior by Neil R. Carlson

Comment by HumanFlesh on Pain and gain motivation · 2010-04-11T15:48:01.583Z · LW · GW

What does SASS stand for?

Comment by HumanFlesh on Open Thread: March 2010 · 2010-03-04T14:05:34.730Z · LW · GW

Adrafinil is similar to modafinil, only it's much cheaper because its patent has expired.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-07T19:49:22.855Z · LW · GW

They're not ethnic slurs.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-07T17:39:30.108Z · LW · GW

They both live in cities.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-07T16:36:57.610Z · LW · GW

People can become so used to certain styles and colors that they don't even classify certain sartorial habits as fashion. They don't notice the cultural currents that surround them anymore than a fish notices that it's wet. To them, the word fashion is associated with only the most loud and heavily marketed forms of fashion.

It's similar to how people associate the word diet with slimming diets. In truth, as long as we are eating, we have a diet. And as long as we dress ourselves, we are making fashion decisions.

Conservative garb is not necessarily timeless. Some subcultural or countercultural fashions manage to loosen their connection to the year in which they were born. If you showed me a picture of a man in a suit taken in 1978, I could probably guess that it was from the late seventies by using the color palette and fit as clues. I would have a harder time identifying the year in which a photo of a skinhead was taken.

3-piece suits from 1917 were not made in the same styles as the ones that you can find in the store today, but Converse All-Stars, though designed in 1917, are still widely available. I can also go to a shoe store and buy a new pair of Adidas Superstars that were designed in 1969 or Adidas Sambas designed in 1950.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-07T15:34:24.973Z · LW · GW

Which conjunction do you find odd? Is it the "and" between lapel and tie?

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-07T01:26:00.343Z · LW · GW

In London, there is a reasonable overlap between set businessmen and set lager louts.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-06T17:04:34.119Z · LW · GW

The books that I mentioned discuss many kinds of signaling, not just sexual semiotics. Sometimes people wear uncomfortable shoes not to look hot, but merely to avoid looking like a proletariat.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-06T16:44:25.534Z · LW · GW

Read Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class and Zahavi's Handicap Principle if you'd like to know the answer.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-06T16:18:00.332Z · LW · GW

But by 2015, that stigma will be gone and purple has a chance to come "back in style".

Six years seems too soon for a style to come back into fashion. People sometimes keep a garment in rotation for six years, so it would be hard to distinguish the people who intentionally adopt an old style from those who never bothered to update their wardrobe. It can also take six or more years for a style that's first accepted in Manhattan to spread to Topeka.

Fashions tend to run in 15 to 30 year cycles. In this way, a style can seem new to teenagers and nostalgically appealing to the 18-30 demographic. Anachronistic styles that are considered gauche rather than charming can be worn ironically to mock the previous generation or to distinguish oneself from an older cohort who wouldn't dare to repeat a fashion faux pas.

Cf. Laver's Law

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-06T15:37:44.898Z · LW · GW

Stereotypically feminine colors (e.g. pink and purple) for shirts and ties were popular among London's businessmen in 2002. Not long after that, lager louts and Essex wide boys took a shine to pink polo shirts -- typically worn with the collar popped. Eventually chavs, spides, neds, and scally lads began to collect pink shirts sold in market stalls.

Young men in New Jersey and other guido (AKA gino) habitats were seen wearing pink polo shirts in 2004. The fashion eventually trickled down to garden-variety North American dudebros.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-06T15:22:37.938Z · LW · GW

Conservatism filters clothing from status signals, making other signals relatively stronger.

Designer suits, Savile Row suits, and bespoke brogues are among the most expensive garments men can buy. Surely there is status signalling involved in conservative fashions. Granted, the logos are typically less conspicuous in formal, semi-formal, and business attire, but doesn't that just signal refinement?

Designer jeans and expensive basketball shoes were largely unheard of until the late 1970s. The peacock signaling that you associate with clubwear may just be an artifact of the fact that human leks now take place in nightclubs more often than in Débutante balls.

There is also the trend wherein yesteryear's formalwear becomes the clothing of today's servants (think tailcoats and livery) while yesteryear's sporting garments appreciate in status. For example, the sportcoat was originally a hunting jacket. The blazer, too, was associated with sport. Brogues (AKA wingtips) were once outdoor shoes.

Comment by HumanFlesh on Why Real Men Wear Pink · 2009-08-06T14:11:33.787Z · LW · GW

One doesn't necessarily "sidestep fashion" by dressing conservatively. Desired lapel and tie widths change over the years. Do you care if your clothes have stains or holes? That signals something about your fashion sense.

Figuring out which clothes appeal to the shifting tastes of various audiences in various social settings is not easy for someone who suffers from schizophrenia, autism, trisomy 21, severe depression, or other affliction that impairs one's will or ability to conform to mercurial social trends.

Even someone who buys desirable brands can be inept at coordinating garments and selecting an appropriate cut. Like many other social behaviors, the clothes we wear send messages about our social roles, aspirations, and neurological health.