Psychology

If you like, feel free to abandon this post and read this instead: Beyond Elon Don’t worry, the title is basically clickbait, but the essay itself is very good, and says what I’d like to say myself, very well. If you’re still here, or have come back … When I was at school, the teachers loved me. I was the kind of child they went into the career for. I came from nowhere, a family with no expectations that had nobody with a university background, and I picked up pretty much everything effortlessly....

I only really trust someone’s judgement when I know they’ve changed their mind on something important. Sometimes I’ve said this publicly, and people bristle. Changing your mind isn’t seen as positive. Being right is important, and sticking to things is strong. People like being right, and want to be seen as strong. The important fact, though, is that those two things are opposed to each other. Most people arrive at adulthood with a fairly firm set of opinions about the world....

Why are you reading this? For some reason, in recent weeks I keep bumping into Robert Sapolsky’s ideas. He is certain that you had no choice but to read what you’re reading, because there is no such thing as free will. You may think you chose, but there was nothing doing any choosing. Biologically, you can’t argue either – because of the evidence, not because your actions are predetermined. Whatever you do is caused by neurons firing, which are physical, and work by physical causes, combinations of sensory input, connection between them, environment and history....

Sometimes I annoy people by saying that truth is not important. “Truth” is always either provisional, dependent on formal assumptions, or a matter of faith. It can’t be absolute, and therefore we shouldn’t treat it as an end in itself. As sentient beings, we interact not directly with reality, but with representations and models of reality. More and more, in science, through sophisticated equipment, but at any time through our senses and brain processes....

After I wrote a little essay about life being better without planning, one of those fortunate coincidences occurred, and I found a book called “Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned”. I recommend the book. It may not convince you, but it presents a perspective that even sceptics could usefully consider. It makes the case, from a technical and practical base, that no ground-breaking achievement can ever be achieved by deciding on the steps to get there and working through them....