According to @robinhanson, life is full of hidden motives: politics is not about policy, school is not about learning, charity is not about helping, etc. Well, I have a new one to add to the list: arguing is not about persuasion. (Link below).

This meme has officially become annoying.

The votes are in, and we have a winner. Get ready for "AI Doomerism Is Bullshit."

Thanks! Info below.

Particularly insightful conversation between @AgnesCallard and @robinhanson on what it means to treat someone with "respect". 👇youtube.com/watch?v=K3koQ_AD…

If you’d like to read more about this and see some additional arguments, check out my two blog posts on the topic: “Happiness Is Bullshit” (my first post) and “You Actually Want to Suffer” (my most recent post). The blog is called "Everything Is Bullshit". 🐂💩(22/22)

The best theories of motivation (i.e., theories of homeostasis) say that our motivations are like complicated thermostats. They’re cybernetic systems. They have present-states and goal-states. They act to minimize the difference based on feedback from the environment. (6/22)

Think of a thermostat. It does not need happiness or suffering to keep our homes at the right temperature, does it? No, it just needs to be wired up right. A diagram of a thermostat needs no boxes for "happiness" or "suffering". Neither does a diagram of motivation. (5/22)

The conventional wisdom is that happiness and suffering motivate us, like carrots and sticks. Happiness is a “reward” for achieving a goal. Suffering is a “punishment” for failure. Our life is ruled by the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of suffering. (2/22)

Nobody wants to be happy. Nobody wants to avoid suffering. The things we want are in the world—not in our heads. A thread. (1/22)

For those of you who suspect Republicans are being hypocritical about free speech and kneeling during the national anthem, I have empirical data that they are. This is from a poll of 800 Republicans we did back in December. See more at thepulseofthenation.com/#pol…

Favorite finding of the month: Most of the people who think their economic opinions are well-informed cannot name a single living economist. (more at thepulseofthenation.com/#pol…) #pulseofthenation