A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “typical mind fallacy”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott Alexander examines how the 'typical mind fallacy' might lead some closeted gay individuals to support anti-gay positions, potentially influencing broader anti-gay arguments.
Scott Alexander discusses the concept of gender identity, relating it to his personal experience and scientific understanding, and poses questions about the nature of gender identity in cisgender individuals.
Scott uses a thought experiment about aliens making British people sensitive to salmon photos to argue that causing offense should be viewed through a consequentialist harm-minimization framework rather than a deontological blame-assignment framework.
Scott tests picoeconomics theory by creating a formal written oath to study two hours daily, which successfully works by creating the same psychological pressure as serious deadlines, and he provides practical advice for others to try this technique.
Scott explores how innate neurological differences in emotional responses might drive political disagreements, suggesting that people form intuitive reactions first and rationalize them later, making political debate extremely difficult.
Scott explains the "typical mind fallacy" - the tendency to assume everyone's mind works like your own - using examples from mental imagery, personality differences, and social behavior, arguing that rationality requires overcoming this bias.