Rationality in Action: Look at a Problem as an Outsider

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[@Sprillex]

I like the pace at which she speaks. i wish more people would talk like this.

[@Jahooba]

It's hard to apply rational and reasonable thought to a relationship - most relationships are based on irrational feelings. If I start applying reason to relationships then they ALL seem really stupid and/ or shallow.

[@Baes_Theorem]

Rationality is not opposed to feelings, although it can be opposed to bad reasons that give rise to feelings. Feelings are facts about the world (specifically, they are facts about you and the people you care about), and should therefore factor into your rationality. Spock is not a rationalist.

[@VictoV7]

I like her

[@MrVinaykaushik]

me too.

[@hhbattery4746]

Simp

[@realtoast7036]

@@hhbattery4746 Heh

[@zachgsu762]

@@hhbattery4746 ahhh yes the good ole funny "simp" joke👾

[@hhbattery4746]

@@zachgsu762 Welcome to the internet 😏

[@TBirdHEX]

I had to watch this twice to fully absorb the excellent information presented in this video. Too distracted the first time!

[@COEXISTential]

I blame Carl Sagan for making people think that you pronounce 'biases' as thought it were the plural of 'biasis', which of course it isn't. Basis to bases (Bay-sees) Bias to biases (By-a-sez) Other than that, a salient and timely presentation.

[@gregiep]

You know, I was thinking something like this the other day. I said to myself, "If I were giving someone else in my situation advice, I'd tell them to do 'X', but I'm going to do 'Y' instead." So, I guess I came up with this tool on my own, now I just need to convince myself to actually do 'X'.....

[@ThomasAndresen]

"The heart has its reasons which reason does not know." - Blaise Pascal

[@incollectio]

Reminds me of the cosmological perspective. At least Feynman and Sagan talked about it in various contexts: Think how an alien being from outer space might think of us when they view our actions (however narrowly or widely you want to define "we").

[@hawaiidispenser]

I'll call her brilliant because even among the very smart people interviewed in this video channel, she still stands out as one of the most effective communicators I've seen. I think it's clearly apparent and thus is being commented on more than usual. As for not discussing the subject, I personally don't have anything to add -- I was introduced to a new concept and for the moment feel it was covered fully.

[@tmnt9001]

You have my greatest respect. Admitting that we are wrong (in this case misunderstood something) is one of the hardest things to do - and it that it is even rarest on the internet. Thank you for showing me that some people can still do it. :)

[@pixelseeker]

2:40 spot on!

[@robertlewisart]

I am happiest when Julia is looking directly into the camera. Only then can I focus clearly on what she is saying. She is always very interesting and very easy to look at. Personally, the changes in camera angles, the multiple cameras, really distract me. They give the false impression that there is an audience or someone else she is talking to. I prefer the more personal, direct feel of her earlier videos even if they were out of focus or just raw footage. No need to change camera angles. It causes a big disconnect. I wonder if the video producer actually thinks that they can make Julia look more interesting. If so, think again. Julia is inherently interesting in word and visual. Do your job by letting her be herself! Keep it simple, please. Thanks for listenting.

[@Justin1976]

Thank you Ms. Galef, this has given me alot to think about, like my own decision making processes.

[@vincehexum]

What you are suggesting is just one element that you would consider when looking at something as an outsider. It can be from any perception outside of your own.

[@Uhmu]

The worst bias of them all, when you you know that you have biases and think that you can avoid making them because you are aware of them.

[@Rmarcturus]

I genuinely like this video. I took a nugget of knowledge from this. Thumbs up for you

[@thwalmsley]

Looking at a problem as an outsider and looking at a problem with empathy are not mutually exclusive. The point of the video is to find the best, most rational solution to a problem. Excessive empathy can be a hindrance just as much as an excessive lack of empathy.

[@EmceeProphIt]

Yes. Many people are often disturbed by the concept of people 'between genders' because they are the minority and we're raised to think our gender gap is this broad unchanging thing. In the real world, men and women can be any mixture of traits and their gender can have little to no influence on their outlook, skills, intellect and behavior. Or sometimes gender can mean the world to them. Set aside gender norms, and people will either see you for who you are, or unjustly label you as a freak.

[@TRYCLOPS1]

What about looking at a problem with empathy? You know, like, putting yourself in the place of the ones affected? It's not so hard!

[@tonyburton419]

Sunk cost avoidance also in the example provided.

[@kredit787]

There's a time and a place for everything. Rationality is good, but so is creativity. Its best to know and adapt the kind of thinking necessary in a given situation. That's what I think.

[@DSDMovies]

The way that music came in at the end made me think someone turned a power drill on next to my head. I live in constant fear of that, it's a long story.

[@erasmusso]

Being in love with a person's mind is stronger than being in love with a person's body.

[@buzzkill808raven2]

how so?

[@erasmusso]

@@buzzkill808raven2 Seriously? -_- Minds are unique, attractive bodies are aplenty...

[@buzzkill808raven2]

@@erasmusso yes, seriously. I want to know how you can qualify such a statement as being universally true, since love is a relative, subjective idea that humans made up. It's as real as unicorns, flat earth, or the globe/sphere theory. So since no human can speak on love objectively or with authority, what makes you an exception?

[@buzzkill808raven2]

@@erasmusso to you minds are unique and attractive bodies are plenty but to someone else it's the opposite. to someone else both those statements are bullshit...talking in such broad rhetorical absolutes is baseless and frankly, idiotic

[@PopsGribs]

I think it is interesting that adherence to various religious and paranormal beliefs was not mentioned in this short editorial. I was aware of the concepts of confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance but had never heard the term "commitment effect" before. I am curious why so many people hold these sorts of beliefs and refuse to let them go despite lack of empirical evidence.

[@rektator]

1 I agree with you that if our leaders were to be consistent in their intentions and if they were scientific thinkers then it would probably be better. What I mean by scientific I mean all the way scientific in many aspects. That would for example imply that when there's a problem such as people drive past the optimal speed on a road. Then they make a scientific question "How to optimize the speed?" Later there would be a gizmo that would make the car unable to go past the limit on a given road.

[@rektator]

3 My point is that rationality applied to politics would be very, very much different from our current ways of doing stuff. It would be so much different that I don't believe that people would even want it because they aren't educated enough and there's still too much dogma.

[@thydusk666]

Incredible how much condensed info she has included in less than 4 minutes!... I gotta see this vid again to chew down on all the ideas.

[@MagicAndReason]

Yeah, my psych degree was in cognitive science and you get the idea pretty quickly that the human mind has numerous processing issues. And I graduated in 1991, so I'm certain even more problems have been uncovered since then. Rationality is nothing you can simply switch on, it takes a trained approach.

[@knucklesamidge]

Look at our monetary system as an outsider. Everything has a price tag, even morals, and those with money therefore has the power to do what they want with the world. There isn't enough money to fix society's biggest problems but there is enough people/resources, but the idea of debt prevents us from actualy doing something about it. Without money 90% of jobs could be automated & done more efficiently. Money is why we're using our limited supply of oil & not our abundant supply of reusable enrgy

[@waedjradi]

Attachment to biases can always lead to some form of predicament. On the apparatus.

[@knight4linux]

I found my dream job after watching this video. CFAR. If I had an unlimited amount of money & could do whatever I wanted, I would work at CFAR. CFAR if you see this...I will be proactively looking into working with you.

[@tunjibamgbola]

This is yet another excellent topic. It seems like individuals all way up to the global community would benefit if everyone had a clear understanding of this concept. However we would have to overcome those that currently benefit from general ignorance of this concept.

[@Diamondwolf8975]

I think I'm in love. Great session, I agree with most except for the disconnect you get from over-rationalizing everything. Eventually love gets excommunicated out of one's being

[@DarkHorseSki]

The Intel example was a great way to highlight the issue and solution. Thanks.

[@Sophiethefembot]

yep, I got no problem accepting a compliment from a man on my beauty, long as he doesn't insinuate that it's the more important than my brain or personality

[@scrunner1436]

Rationality is hardly an overrated thing. It is when emotions get in the way of quality cognition when viewing things neutrally and in the grand spectrum become dismantled. I would argue that rationality is not synonymous with safety mechanisms, unlike emotional responses are.

[@TRYCLOPS1]

It's not stupid because it helps generate a solution that is beneficial for both parties in dispute instead of a neutral robotic solution. Do you prefer to have a judge that doesn't give a fuck about you or do you rather have one that actually cares about you, as well as the other party? If you have a doctor, do you prefer one that only sees you as a number, or do you actually prefer one that sees you as a human being and cares about your well being? All you have to do is balance the empathy!

[@otiebrown9999]

Another outstanding success for Julia's precise thinking. Medical people can not think "outside their office box".

[@vikramgupta2326]

That was a great example/story. All of these points are very true, as I know from personal experience. But also very difficult to break out off when you're in the midst of it, as I also know we'll.

[@slyfoxrocks]

Julia - you forgot "We would look at religion and belief systems in general with a suspicion that is sorely lacking today" if rationality was more pervasive.

[@Harabeck]

Money has been a part of our society for thousands of years. You can't just flip a switch and make it go away. Look at how much trouble it is just to get equal rights for certain groups within our society.

[@JAYDUBYAH29]

Called being “pot committed” in poker... makes you lose more money than necessary with a good but not great hand.

[@knightlordzz]

Great video! Really liked her presentation xD

[@alastairpaisley6668]

I don't think you can apply "rationality" completely to your personal relationships. There's some "irrationality" (or "nonrationality") that you will have to allow for them. They call it "falling in love" for a reason. But it's a reason that the heart understands, but the mind does not fully comprehend.

[@rektator]

Because one post can only contain 500 characters and when I write for instance 1200 character text I have to distribute it to 3 different posts. What I mean to say is that there is more stuff that I wrote about the subject. I have been lately thinking about the concept rationality from a very philosophical standpoint and when I saw this video I thought that she didn't really talk about it (what it really is).

[@rektator]

3 If the foundation isn't fixed then rationality added to it won't help making the world more stable place. Rational should be first applied to figure out what the foundation should be like.

[@TheeImmortalPhoenix]

Finally someone with reason! :) A shining example for everyone else to emulate.

[@PopsGribs]

That is an interesting point. Is it correct to assume that the outsider would act in a purely selfish manner or without making a judgement based on an emotional commitment?

[@felixcantournet]

Thanks for the transcript : it's a pretty dense talk. great video.

[@JadeChaos]

Good talk

[@alastairpaisley6668]

Yes, you're probably right. I should have just quoted Pascal's famous line rather than paraphrasing it.

[@CMO999]

It's like that in real life too, some of my friends can't see an attractive female without makeing some dumb comment. It always annoys me.

[@MarzJonp]

In the context she was using counter measures to Commitment Effect. It would work. Trying to Empathize with a person who doesn't care about the relationship, puts you in a vicious cycle.

[@ahmedabdelrazek7809]

why all of sudden your videos are recommended to me and its all between 5 to 8 years ago !!

[@1234TokyoJohn]

Intels cofounders were Noyce and Moore. Grove came later.

[@rektator]

The way I see the world: there are this much resources, there are this much people who consume these resources, this is our technical capability therefore we can use this much of the resources. Then this is the potential efficiency and then the efficiency of the world right now. We, as a species, have no standards on anything real so therefore our leaders cannot be rational. The question is what kind of a world do we want, what does it take and is it possible but we aren't educated enough yet.

[@12345abcdef49]

I know where you are coming from, but I can't see alternative interpretations of what she is saying. When she says "making rational decisions", what interpretations do you predict from various people?

[@SussyBacca]

I can appreciate that :) Would you be offended if a well dressed, clean, respectful person heard you talk for a minute and said "sorry, I got distracted by your hotness, can you say that again?" and they were being honest? She is wearing makeup, since it takes time to put on and it's not great for her skin, she must want people to think she is pretty, and less than 1 in 10 people who think something will tell you about it. Could it be rational to say she is pretty? I wasn't trying to disrespect.

[@DaileyVengeance]

More of this please.

[@sheepblitzer]

Race, nationality, partisanship, religion. Such concepts need to be looked over rationally. If they no longer serve a purpose, all they do is divide us and create conflicts, they are irrational.

[@SlipknotRevan]

I fucking hate that videos with a woman that's good/bad looking will always have comments about it.

[@jojo-fj7lw]

The laws of human nature is a good book if you like such topics

[@Jahooba]

Thanks, that guy is right - as a Buddhist what he's explaining I've learned empirically. I let go of people a lot - to need people makes me feel selfish. Thanks for the link - I'm glad I'm not alone in being alone, hehe. :)

[@HerbBurnah]

So true.

[@boleroinferno]

It's not a cognitive bias to at any particular point in time have imperfect knowledge of all possible actions... I like the work of Yudkowsky and others, but because of its aversion to the humanities and anything labelled as 'philosophy', it tends to ignore foundational questions such that contradictory claims like this one seem 'rational'. The best way to make people more rational is to demystify the workings of society.

[@changito1227861]

This video was amazing and she was so well spoken

[@itowedin]

Great point, and I guess in your scenario the liability might be subjective. Hypothetically it could make you feel more alive or rewarded to be caring for someone you love in unfortunate times in which case this cognitive practice might itself be irrational. Way to turn the game on itself.

[@practicalmagic9]

This was very helpful and thoughtful.

[@gDoxe]

Looking at problems as an outsider aswell as alot of other stuff she mentioned is what i do by default...

[@JonathanAcostaValverde]

Thumbs up if you had to watch it again because you conldn't stop looking at her the first time. Extra points if you had to just listen and not look to actually pay attention.

[@Egilator]

you should listen to more of jacque fresco, he's a genius and created the utterly amazing Venus Project :D

[@DSDMovies]

Defining women by their looks isn't. Just because you acknowledge intelligence too doesn't let you off the hook.

[@djroddking]

One Beautiful Woman, With A Beautiful Brain!

[@crgl2009]

And a stupid simp

[@rektator]

One to be rational there has to be an end goal. Universe has no meaning or direction it just happens. So therefore to say some action is irrational doesn't actually mean anything because you don't have any standards (end goal for instance) to make the judgement. You have to always present your standards when making judgement about any subject if you can't it's not then rational. The concept of rational society would then imply that a society should have an end goal.

[@AshMashDashSplash]

"Long after"; she was talking about the long term.

[@TempestTossedWaters]

It's of course true that rationality means a consistency between one's actions and reasons for action. But this video explicitly describes ways in which more rationality would make society better. For example that a more rational electorate who wants a good president would select a better president if it was more rational, this is true by definition and is a way in which more rationality would lead to a better society.

[@JonathanM-JMart]

you're right, the fact that there is a majority of men here in the comments gives a sense of sexism, although it may be not intended.

[@Egonkiller]

But this perspective would interfere with determination or not?

[@JoshuaAllcornEsquire]

What a great opportunity to learn about objectivity, while objectifying the speaker

[@ccash3290]

they'd say okay since the government does its job and can't exist without everybody(mostly) chipping in to keep the government up and running (or take it down if needed)

[@Idontwanttoask]

Thank you your 😎.

[@Gabzpiano]

i failed the #1 rule of having a discussion on the internet, i didn't look up paleontology before trying to correct someone else, i was just too lazy :/

[@Random_dudebro]

This is remarkably similar to the Big Think video with Jonah Lehrer.

[@GiftedFiasco]

Interesting.

[@KingZig86]

valid points

[@BuuBuuJak]

no feces. these stuff is logic ( well at least for me ) .They come up with these theories and concepts on how "outside" look must be considered when developing a plan. i knew it for years. i'v been doing it for years. Every time i come up with an idea, i ask my friends/partners for their opinion. They throw at me the negative aspects and problems, which i didnt see, and now we sit together and figure everything out together.

[@eduardopreciado4133]

genius. The antidote to confirmation bias is looking at the problem from the perspective of a stranger.

[@HaploidCell]

So, I've been studying at university for a while and I am not sure if it's the right subject for me. It is highly possible that I suffer from this bias, that I am too invested because of how long I have already studied this subject. A third-person POV really doesn't help in this case, though, since another person can't really look in my mind or understand my emotions. Hell - I can't even understand my emotions. Is there some other technique to counter this bias? Does anyone know?

[@thedecktothe16thpower56]

It doesn't get more outside when you realize your are alien compared to the drones that call themselves humans.

[@rektator]

Ok, thanks.

[@tmnt9001]

From what I understand you're still grounded on the Hollywood notion of rationality (see more here facingthesingularity. com/2011/why-spock-is-not-rational/ ), that's why it sounds so horrible to be rational about your relationships. Being rational is just making the best possible decision, using the information you have, according to your goals.

[@Berelore]

My ex's will testify this bias holds no sway in my life.

[@malneir]

What do you call the bias that happens when you agree with anything somebody you find very attractive says?

[@TempestTossedWaters]

Just out of curiousity, why do you put "1" to the start of your posts?

[@JonathanAcostaValverde]

thank you, good sir, you're full of win.

[@Dreadnaught1Aw]

Not exactly a new idea.... but an excellent method of presentation. ;)

[@DjHamSammich]

Agreed, I wish intellect was portrayed as beauty, as much as physical appearance was

[@Egilator]

no problem, I really hope you come to understand and appreciate the venus project since it has changed my life completely and I want to spread the awareness :D

[@Blue4Eternity]

omg the stupidity in comments, it burns... dear bigthink, pls turn them off.

[@crgl2009]

Stupid comment

[@nervaikrapse458]

She's intelligent and beautiful. We need a lot of woman like her.