AJ, thanks as always. Regarding the fox vs. the hedgehog, what about a hedge-fox? George Loewenstein, Roy Baumeister, and Kathleen Vohs argue (starting with the world of psychological research) that we shine most when we mix the two skillsets: be knowledgeable in a single field (like the hedgehog), but also be able to adapt strategies in varying contexts (like the fox). Is this too much of a middle ground thing to say? Maybe a bit of both could make us stronger.
Once again A.J. you hit it out of the ballpark - this is the BEST opinion piece ever! Ok, I need to restate that and say, in my opinion, this is one of the best written articles on overcoming misinformation that I've read this year. Great job!
I finally have an interest comment: regarding essentialism, I already made a deep reflection about how language can change the perceptions over our feelings.
I'm brazilian and, in portuguese, when we want to express how we feel, we don't use a verb that represents our being, but one that represents our state of mind.
When in english, you might say "I am sad" -- what might not be true, at least we don't want to think that we ARE sad. In portuguese, we would say to "eu estou triste", what would mean that "I am in a state of sadness". When expressing our feelings in portuguese, we always end up giving this idea that the feeling is just one mutable state of what you are.
Rainer Maria Rilke would surely love the portuguese language.
I agree wholeheartedly with your column and am happy to see someone who has the ability to look at both sides of a situation and realize that one point of view is not necessarily written in cement for all time. Very good job.
Re: Steel-manning. Two specific benefits of steel-manning in a discussion: if you state the other's position in the best possible way, even better than they could say it, they will then know that you have listened to them and understand what they are saying, and they will then be ready to listen to you (because they don't have to be thinking of how to get you to understand what they are saying). The second benefit is that sometimes when you do state the other's position well, you realize that they are right, either wholly or partly, and you enlarge your own understanding.
Hi AJ! I totally agree with your essentialism position, particularly regarding children. I learned as a parent to my three then young (now adult) children to not say, "you are a f$#@!ing idiot!", but instead say, "your behavior is f$#@!ing idiotic!"
It really does make a big difference to not attach a label to them.
AJ, thanks as always. Regarding the fox vs. the hedgehog, what about a hedge-fox? George Loewenstein, Roy Baumeister, and Kathleen Vohs argue (starting with the world of psychological research) that we shine most when we mix the two skillsets: be knowledgeable in a single field (like the hedgehog), but also be able to adapt strategies in varying contexts (like the fox). Is this too much of a middle ground thing to say? Maybe a bit of both could make us stronger.
Excellent point! Also, very fox-like to see that both lenses have their strengths and weaknesses.
Once again A.J. you hit it out of the ballpark - this is the BEST opinion piece ever! Ok, I need to restate that and say, in my opinion, this is one of the best written articles on overcoming misinformation that I've read this year. Great job!
Ha! Thank you Kurt. This is the BEST response ever. (Or at least one of my favorites!)
Hey, Mr Jacobs!
I finally have an interest comment: regarding essentialism, I already made a deep reflection about how language can change the perceptions over our feelings.
I'm brazilian and, in portuguese, when we want to express how we feel, we don't use a verb that represents our being, but one that represents our state of mind.
When in english, you might say "I am sad" -- what might not be true, at least we don't want to think that we ARE sad. In portuguese, we would say to "eu estou triste", what would mean that "I am in a state of sadness". When expressing our feelings in portuguese, we always end up giving this idea that the feeling is just one mutable state of what you are.
Rainer Maria Rilke would surely love the portuguese language.
Keep up with the good work!
I agree wholeheartedly with your column and am happy to see someone who has the ability to look at both sides of a situation and realize that one point of view is not necessarily written in cement for all time. Very good job.
Re: Steel-manning. Two specific benefits of steel-manning in a discussion: if you state the other's position in the best possible way, even better than they could say it, they will then know that you have listened to them and understand what they are saying, and they will then be ready to listen to you (because they don't have to be thinking of how to get you to understand what they are saying). The second benefit is that sometimes when you do state the other's position well, you realize that they are right, either wholly or partly, and you enlarge your own understanding.
Hi AJ! I totally agree with your essentialism position, particularly regarding children. I learned as a parent to my three then young (now adult) children to not say, "you are a f$#@!ing idiot!", but instead say, "your behavior is f$#@!ing idiotic!"
It really does make a big difference to not attach a label to them.
This is the only dichotomy which is not false.
Love the taste / hypothesis frame. Gonna steal it!
Please do!