There are ways you can circumvent ideological corruption. You can think more clearly, critically, and less tribally and ideologically. But you have to want it, and wanting is a disposition. Here are 7 techniques:

https://twitter.com/mikenayna/status/1977175831761076245

1) Identify the core reason you hold a position and eliminate it from the deliberation (“the real reason check”). Are your other arguments sufficient to warrant belief?

2) Make good arguments against what you believe. The more moral the belief the more important this becomes

After Charlie Kirk’s murder, many were shocked to see people celebrate killing someone for mainstream conservative views. I’m not. As a professor, I saw the ideology that taught “disagreement = harm” take over higher ed. This is the endgame of that lesson. 🧵 In this campus culture, to even question the ideology is to cause harm. That belief fueled extreme reactions to speech. Administration and students relentlessly harassed me for holding mainstream liberal positions until I resigned. 2

https://x.com/i/status/1150377045945249793

The Illusion of Explanatory Depth:

We think we understand something until we’re asked to explain it. Often, we’re clueless. Breakdown, consequence, fix. 1/5 Example: A toilet. Most would claim knowledge, but describing its mechanics exposes one’s ignorance. We overestimate our grasp of policies, tech, even zippers. 2/5.

Here’s my take on the “Triggernometry Meets Guilty Feminist” discussion: It’s a tragic example of how to NOT have a discussion. In this thread, I’ll cover mistakes in conversation and reasoning while offering basic suggestions for improvement. 1
@triggerpod Here’s a link to their podcast:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tri…

YouTube:

youtu.be/bgO2G4_F4EQ?si…

From my conversations with the sharpest people in the English-speaking world, here are 10 things I’ve learned:

1. They’re not afraid to say, “I don’t understand” and “I don’t know”. 2. They’re very well read *outside* of their discipline.

3. They’re curious.

4. They listen carefully and ask followup questions.

Harris, @tegmark and others are incorrect in their assumptions about math. Here’s my heretical take: Math, at its core, is empirical. All numbers derive from counting. It’s observable. 🧵

https://twitter.com/tokteacher/status/1847508706339983727

Consider these two propositions which I’ll reference below:

Math starts with numbers.

Counting is a form of measuring.

We define a measurement, like an inch, and count. 1, 2, 3, etc.

Here’s a quick tip for helping you think through an issue in six easy steps. A thread:

1. State your belief in a single sentence.

2. In a single sentence, state at least one position opposed to your belief. 3. Ask yourself what you would need to know—definitively—for the belief that opposes yours to be true.

4.Ask yourself if every reasonable person would agree to what you stated in #3.

5. Ask yourself how you could go about figuring out #3.

Here’s a breakdown of:

“Not all cultures are as valid as each other”.

This thread will explain, in plain language, what disbelieving “not all cultures are equally valid” entails. If you disbelieve the claim that “all cultures are as valid as each other,” then you believe, “All cultures are as valid as each other”. If you believe all cultures are as valid as each other, then you must believe…

It is important to understand that DEI is not simply an admin arm of higher ed but an ideological apparatus that grew from a body of academic literature. In 2018, @HPluckrose, @ConceptualJames, @MikeNayna, & I exposed the DEI-related fields as totally fraudulent. THREAD 2. We engaged in a one-year immersive exploration of DEI-related fields. We attempted to understand DEI disciplines as “outsiders within” and test their scholarship at its highest levels. (We using fake identities.)

Currently at the @MrAndyNgo court case in Portland. He’s the plaintiff. I’ll be live tweeting the trial. The defendant waived his right to a jury. The judge is meticulous in establishing rules of conduct for the media and all those present. I am genuinely impressed with his thoroughness, clarity, and professionalism.

At 37 minutes in he’s still establishing and clarifying rules for the media.

Five life lessons I’ve learned from jiu jitsu. 

1) Tap frequently and tap often, but never tap from exhaustion. 2) Relax. The worse the situation the more important it is to relax.

More discourse in a society does not translate into a more advanced society. What matters is not just that discourse is occurring or is allow to occur, but what the discourse is about that’s a way to measure a society’s advancement. 1/5 In China there’s discourse about about the poetry of Mao Zedong and the reasons it’s wonderful. Among the topics censored women’s rights and China’s skewed sex ratio. 2/5

A few quick thoughts on my #BJJ journey from #purpletobrown.

My gym in #Budapest has a culture of leg hunting, esp in no gi. They frequently catch me with knee bars and even heel hooks. (The latter are forbidden at most gyms until brown as they are *incredibly* dangerous.) I’ve had to change up my game and be incredibly mindful of where I place my feet. This is good, but I find myself defending my legs at the expense of trying to take top. I’ve not yet figured out a way to balance leg defense from relentless leg hunters while trying to guard pass.

Differences between #Portland #Oregon & #Budapest #Hungary

Budapest:
No tent camping and *far* fewer homeless

*Much* safer

*Much* cleaner and no mounds of trash everywhere

Virtually no guns

No riots

Statues exist

Currently open for business It’s difficult to explain to people just how bad the city of portland has become. This is made worse by gaslighting and partisanship.

Here are a few things I have learned from over a quarter of a century of teaching. My advice to new teacher and professors:

1) Make sure there are clear learning outcomes at the beginning of each class. Write them on the board so they can be seen for the entire class. 2) Review the learning outcomes at the end of each class. *Ask* students to connect the content to the outcomes. (Don’t tell, ask.) That is, “Can anyone connect the learning outcome [say outcome] to what we did today?”

In one of my “impossible conversations” today, someone told me that in ten years they want to become more certain of their beliefs. I was struck by this as it’s a completely different paradigm from how I think about my belief life. 1 We want to have the maximum number of true beliefs & the minimum number of false beliefs. But these are often in conflict, as we can’t believe everything (as we’d have more false beliefs) or not believe anything (as this is both impossible and we’d not have any true beliefs) 2

I’m almost finished with a writing retreat. I’m taking a quick break to offer a few writing hints. I hope you’ll find them helpful. 1) One of the main reasons writers—particularly younger writers—don’t improve is because they look at their writing as their baby. That is, they can’t take it being criticized. To improve in anything, esp writing, you must not only be able to accept but appreciate criticism.

This official document is from the Oregon Department of Education:“Communicating about Racial Equity in a Charged Environment”

It teaches educators how to speak about CRT and racial equity.

Here are a few things to think about as you read it… 1) The entire document is rooted in equity and how to speak to people about equity, yet equity is not defined.

Moreover, it’s assumed that equity is an intrinsic good, and offers no argument or evidence for equity-based education.

It's interesting to note the ideological slants in Trip Gabriel’s NYT piece about Glenn Youngkin. I know, I know, everyone will say “Duh, Boghossian, obviously.” But it’s useful to look at just two sentences to clarify the bias:

nytimes.com/2021/11/03/us/… 1) "conservatives’ belief that classwork has become overly conscious of racial differences"

I find this fascinating

time.com/collection/100…

Very few of these individuals are actually influential, but they were mostly written about by people who are. 1) It appears as if these individuals were chosen for reasons relating to superficial diversity and not actual influence. (Certainly not enough influence to be in the top 100.) Here are just two problems with attempting to artificially manufacture such outcomes. 2)

I’m sitting in the pet ER waiting for Lola to come out of surgery. She was attacked by a porcupine. Watching people who love their pets so deeply is moving.

This is Biju. She’s recovering from a heart attack. Listening to many stories of people who rescued their animal from abusive homes and now they’re dealing with the consequences of physical abuse. Heartbreaking and also inspiring that so many people have so much goodness and decency.