david on Nostr: Our mental models of the universe are inexact, that much is true. But I wonder: do ...
Our mental models of the universe are inexact, that much is true.
But I wonder: do you find yourself following this line of thinking, and making real world decisions accordingly, on issues that are not tribal or politicized? If I say it’s 85 degrees outside do you think to yourself that temperature is a social construct, so it might be freezing out and you should bring warm clothes when you leave the house? If I say the moon is made of cheese, do you think to yourself that the concept of cheese is a social construct, therefore maybe the moon is made of cheese and astronauts will never go hungry on the moon? These strike me as non sequiturs. Just because we can change the words we use to describe reality doesn’t mean we can change reality. And in my experience, almost no one would be thinking those things as they make mundane real world decisions throughout the day. But if I said I identify as an elf, many (in recent years) would say yes, you might be an elf. Why the difference? The only explanation I can think of is that personal identity has been highly politicized, as opposed to something like the composition of moon rocks, which has not.
But I wonder: do you find yourself following this line of thinking, and making real world decisions accordingly, on issues that are not tribal or politicized? If I say it’s 85 degrees outside do you think to yourself that temperature is a social construct, so it might be freezing out and you should bring warm clothes when you leave the house? If I say the moon is made of cheese, do you think to yourself that the concept of cheese is a social construct, therefore maybe the moon is made of cheese and astronauts will never go hungry on the moon? These strike me as non sequiturs. Just because we can change the words we use to describe reality doesn’t mean we can change reality. And in my experience, almost no one would be thinking those things as they make mundane real world decisions throughout the day. But if I said I identify as an elf, many (in recent years) would say yes, you might be an elf. Why the difference? The only explanation I can think of is that personal identity has been highly politicized, as opposed to something like the composition of moon rocks, which has not.