Presentation and Q&A on the Gurometer at The Stoa
Added 2022-02-27 07:45:44 +0000 UTCHi everyone,
Some of you might be interested in this presentation I (Chris) gave at The Stoa earlier in the week. The Stoa is a channel that has featured a number of our gurus and has quite a strong connection to the sense-maker world.
I was slightly wary about the talk due to the audience and the topic but thought it would be good outreach and I was pleasantly surprised. Nice questions and I think (at least amongst some) a receptivity to the points I was making.
Not under any illusion that I was fundamentally winning hearts and minds but I think I did make a good case for the need to be more critical of heterodox/alternative voices.
In any case, interested to hear what any of you think. Slides were finished very shortly before the presentation so a bit of a shaky start but I think things went smoother as time progressed.
Hope you are all having a good weekend!
-Chris
Comments
Well Mathematica crashed during Principal Component Analysis, I wonder what my null conspiracy hypothesis should be... Will let you know if I find something interesting :)
Tomasz
2022-03-03 14:01:03 +0000 UTCHa! I certainly hope Heather scored a unanimous ''5'' on ''Casandra Complex'': https://twitter.com/thebadstats/status/1497762543078559745?s=20&t=wUzhEzW42-PgEHu89cfysw
Tom Allison
2022-03-01 10:28:17 +0000 UTCYeah Stuart Ritchie is also annoyed by this 'hygiene theatre'. I don't see the harm myself and think it probably helps a bit. On the airborne thing, I think a lot revolves around specific definitions.
Christopher Kavanagh
2022-03-01 07:00:32 +0000 UTCMicrophone!
Christopher Kavanagh
2022-03-01 06:59:33 +0000 UTCAll good ideas... but time is the limiting factor! Sheet is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Oe-af4_OmzLJavktcSKGfP0wmxCX0ppP8n_Tvi9l_yc/edit?usp=sharing
Christopher Kavanagh
2022-03-01 06:59:16 +0000 UTCAs a new patron I listened to several gurometer episodes in a row, so great to review the definitions. Here's an idea that you might find useful - in many of those episodes you keep going back to the Weinsteins for calibration, and often the score results from a comparison (worse than Harris but better than Saad etc.), so why not try non-parametric statistics? I know it's not supposed to be truly scientific, but did you try to rank-order the gurus? Use Spearman's rho for example, look for Condorcet paradoxes in your ranking perhaps? Instead of 1 to 5, use Sagan to Weinstein scale ;) And if you don't feel like it, is the up-to-date spreadsheet available?
Tomasz
2022-02-28 20:59:33 +0000 UTCAlso enjoyed the strange visuals created by the green screen (?) hiding what I assume was a messy background on Chris's screen. Am I the only one who saw a sort of penis mirage popping up at the bottom of his screen? Maybe it was a microphone? Have I said too much?
Christie McCormick
2022-02-28 18:51:28 +0000 UTCI thought to give this just a quick nibble, but ended up staying for the full-meal deal. Interesting and thoughtful conversations. I especially appreciated Dr. K's response to Evan's questions and concerns. A fixation on the timing of WHO recommendations vis-a-vis earlier research identifying coronavirus as exclusively airborne seems unhelpful. Whom did we harm by washing our hands (and other surfaces) more often? I like the well-reasoned, rational answer to what appears to be Evan's "gotcha."
Christie McCormick
2022-02-28 18:47:04 +0000 UTCI thought so too! Nice guys.
Christopher Kavanagh
2022-02-28 10:37:32 +0000 UTCOh, and for what is worth, I thought your interlocutors here acquitted themselves quite handsomely, as well -- the result I think will be useful for many who hover on the periphery of thoroughgoing reflexive anti-establishmentarianism.
Tom Allison
2022-02-28 10:17:26 +0000 UTCRegarding your main purpose, I think you did a great job being the voice of reason-not-forgoing-criticism. In general, I think letting your fundamentally sound parsing of issues shine through your genuine willingness to grapple with counter-points inside single sentences was on full and ultimately quite persuasive - or at least, "hmm, that's not the usual tripe I can readily dismiss" -display. Good stuff.
Tom Allison
2022-02-28 10:10:07 +0000 UTCWow, Chris, this was really good. I think you tweeted about whether it makes sense to do this sort of thing -- I'd have to say, in retrospect, HELLS YEAH :). (Liked and am still curious about the dysphoric ritual aspect of doctoral studies that got mentioned at the end. I know those being initiated in academia often see it as a "weeding out" process -- but if it's function is social/cognitive binding that isn't really the aim, is it? They're not trying to "weed you out" as much as "scare you in" and make you willing to continue to sacrifice a lot for membership, right?)
Tom Allison
2022-02-28 09:58:53 +0000 UTCI like how Elon musks photo is up during the Narcissism slide
Anthony Pino
2022-02-28 04:23:20 +0000 UTCI thought it was brilliant and a great idea to travel into dark waters.
Jennydiver
2022-02-27 19:51:30 +0000 UTCThe questions were very good, very earnest I thought, and just the questions I would have wanted to ask too. Good answers, so thoughtful and useful. I liked the bit in the beginning, the little mention of the Mode Theory of Religion—never heard of that before. Great discussion altogether!
Lucy
2022-02-27 19:05:02 +0000 UTCThose slides were great! One made me laugh out loud—Catholic Guilt!
Lucy
2022-02-27 19:00:27 +0000 UTCChris only need to pucker a bit more for a perfect “blue steel” 👍
Jason Trock
2022-02-27 15:57:34 +0000 UTCAmazing grace.
Conal dunn
2022-02-27 14:16:02 +0000 UTC
