[ExI] evolution and crazy thinking

[William Flynn Wallace]

I am utterly unable to explain the appeal Donald Trump has for so many
otherwise intelligently seeming people - Joh Clark

I read something in the paper today that might give us a clue:  seems some
people just don't give a mouse's ass what goes on in DC, as it is
apparently dysfunctional and very unpopular.  When Trump lies, contradicts
himself, makes terrible decisions, and so on, they are laughing their asses
off at the shenanigans - after all, he gets away with it all of this.  The
dumber it is the better.
bill w

On Sat, Jul 14, 2018 at 12:31 PM, John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, Jul 14, 2018 at 11:10 AM, William Flynn Wallace <
> foozler83 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> *>Pondering for the nth time about why humans got so far with all the
>> crazy, illogical cognitive gadgets that inhabit our forebrains.  I have
>> repeatedly mentioned to this group the cognitive errors or biases listed in
>> Wikipedia. Not being any kind of expert on evolution, I want someone(s) to
>> explain just how evolution can explain these unfortunate thinking errors.*
>
>
> Even if you had perfect knowledge of the problem at hand (and in the real
> world that Evolution works in you never do) there is no general algorithm
> that would always enable you to always make the best choice all the time.
> And time is an issue too, a mediocre solution you have right now about what
> to do about that leopard that is about to jump onto you is far superior
> from a Evolutionary point of view than a perfect solution found an hour
> from now, that's the only disadvantage to the Scientific Method and the
> reason it is not instinctual.
>
>
> From the list at:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases
>
>        >* Anthropomorphism and Anthropocentric thinking*
> Anthropomorphism can be a valuable tool, animals sometimes do act in ways
> that are not entirely dissimilar to the ways humans act, and even
> physicists say to themselves things like “the electron wants to go straight
> but the magnetic field forces it to move in a circle”.
>
> *> The tendency to give an opinion that is more socially correct than
> one's true opinion, so as to avoid offending anyone.*
>
> Not unnecessarily turning members of your own species into enemies seems
> like part of a good survival strategy to me.
>
> *> The tendency of our perception to be affected by our recurring thoughts*
>
>
>
> We have no choice , we just don't have enough brainpower to deeply analyze
> all the sensory data received so we must prioritize it according to its
> estimated importance, usually that estimate is mostly right but sometimes
> we miss something important but thats the way it goes, we can't do
> everything.
>
>
>> *> When given a choice between several options, the tendency to favor the
>> default one.*
>
>
> If you estimate there is a 50% chance that doing nothing will make things
> worse and a 50% chance that doing something will make things worse then it
> would be logical to do nothing and hope for the best, at least that way you
> save energy.
>
>
> *>The tendency to think that future probabilities are altered by past
>> events, when in reality they are unchanged.*
>
>
>
> That is certainly an error but probably wasn't a big handicap to our
> prehistoric ancestors and so the gene for that mode of thinking did not die
> out.
>
> *> The tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do*
>
>
> The argument from authority is not always a bad one, I can't independently
> test everything, I've got to trust that some people are specialists and
> know more about some aspect of reality than I do.
>
> *> The tendency to reject new evidence that contradicts a paradigm*
>
>
> It's a good thing that there is a resistance to changing a paradigm.
> Paradigms got to be paradigms because over the years they have done a very
> good job, they should not be rejected unless there is overwhelming evidence
> for doing so.
>
>
> *> When better-informed people find it extremely difficult to think about
>> problems from the perspective of lesser-informed people*
>
>
>
> That one completely stumps me, I am utterly unable to explain the appeal
> Donald Trump has for so many otherwise intelligently seeming people nor,
> considering the current situation, the continuing popularity of third
> political parties.
>
> John K Clark
>
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