{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":" John Nerst (Everything Studies) on Decoupling vs Contextualizing and the Tilted Political Compass","description":"John Nerst, in some sort of bizarre ascetic practice, enjoys studying people disagreeing online. While online discourse is a cesspool of bad intentions, bad faith, and, of course, bad arguments, John is able to divine some deep insights about the fundamental nature of human disagreement. In this interview, we discuss how the abstractions we use let us down when we are trying to be precise in moral arguments, how the \u201cdecoupling vs contextualizing\u201d axis explains how smart people with good intentions can endlessly talk past each other, and why the \u201ctilted political compass\u201d gives many folks who are alienated by contemporary political discourse a home. Learn more from John here: Website: www.everythingstudies.com Twitter: @everytstudiesr If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show. You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list. Suggested Posts from John: \u201cErisology: The Science of Arguing About Everything\u201d from The Atlantic The Tilted Political Compass, Part 1: Left and Right The Tilted Political Compass, Part 2: Up and Down The Nerd as the Norm Case Study: The War on Christmas Science, the Constructionists, and Reality A Deep Dive into the Harris-Klein Controversy 30 Fundamentals Show Notes: [01:38] The anxiety associated with the overwhelming amount of interesting things there are out there to learn\u2014and how John focuses on things outside of his comfort zone in order to keep learning. [06:44] John\u2019s mental model for piecing together arguments that he doesn\u2019t agree with. And, a primer on postmodern philosophy and contextualization. [14:01] Many arguments result from a disagreement on the definitions of abstractions. It\u2019s easy to pick apart the vagaries of arguments that aren\u2019t on \u201cour side,\u201d while simultaneously giving the benefit of the doubt to conclusions that we like. [25:55] Abstractions are \u201cleaky,\u201d and are often the root of disagreements. [37:50] An argument intended to correct for a worldview that has \u201cswung too far\u201d can seem totally out of touch to someone who doesn\u2019t have the same shared context. [44:17] Contextualizers vs decouplers: should information be interpreted in abstractions and toy problems, or should the social context in which arguments exist always be paramount? [53:28] Certain arguments and pieces of information are mimetically fit and can jump outside of their original context\u2014sometimes to the chagrin of the original author [01:03:39] How contextualizing vs decoupling helps create the tilted political compass\u2014and how the tilted political compass helps several people alienated by contemporary political discourse find their home [01:13:01] The dopamine hit from finding a validation of your identity online [01:16:38] Where to get started with John\u2019s blog Everything Studies Links and Resources Mentioned Postmodernism Post-structuralism Universal grammar Noam Chomsky The Social Construction of Scientific Knowledge Eric Weinstein String theory Michel Foucault \u201cNobody: \u201d from Know Your Meme Richard Dawkins\u2019s controversial Tweet \u201cThe \u201810,000-hour rule\u2019 about becoming an expert is wrong \u2014 here\u2019s why\u201d from Business Insider \u201cThe Wisdom of Crowds\u201d by James Surowiecki Condorcet\u2019s jury theorem \u201cAlbert Kao, PhD on the Wisdom of Crowds and Hyperconnected Networks\u201d from Todd Nief \u201cThe cognitive decoupling elite\u201d from Dross Bucket Wittgenstein\u2019s \u201cfamily resemblance\u201d Black Sabbath Iron Maiden Suffocation \u201cA Thrive\/Survive Theory Of The Political Spectrum\u201d from Slate Star Codex WEIRD psychology Jonah Peretti \u201cNegations: Capitalism and Schizophrenia\u201d by Jonah Peretti ","author_name":"Todd Nief's Show","author_url":"http:\/\/toddnief.com","html":"