Sunday, January 22, 2023

The Social Dimension of Intuition vs. Counter-Intuition

Anxious scholars like to flaunt their counter-intuitive beliefs, so they can reassure themselves they aren't plebs. Often to the point where they will make up counter-intuitive beliefs to flaunt. If you're really a chad-brain you can force someone to assent to an obvious lie, right? It starts as the fact that genuine discovery is often counter-intuitive, so the corrupt scholar tries to mimic the discoverer. If I'm very lucky, these corrupt kenners aren't scholars at all, but instead camouflaged merchants. It would be easy to exile them all, in that case. The corrupt scholarship is then recruited by wealthy or numerous bad actors, when the corrupt brain happens to come up with something suitably nasty. 

Then, noticing that ~everything counter-intuitive that their alleged scholars say ends up being false, the plebs double down on only believing intuitive things. Which then provokes real scholars into having to signal against the plebs...

To be completely explicit: both fall into a trap. When you're tempted to show off by being credulous of the counter-intuitive, stop. When you're tempted to think the counter-intuitive things "are counter-intuitive for a reason," don't. Belief in truth makes you strong, whether intuitive or not. Getting caught up in class/caste bickering makes you weak.

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