Comments on: Loud Subtext

By: Doug S.

Doug S. — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:25:42 +0000

Well… running on the affect heuristic does have its drawbacks; my affect heuristic is very present-oriented and has extremely steep temporal discounting. For example, one thing my affect heuristic tells me is that I should avoid employment and other types of paying work at all costs, because surfing the Internet and playing video games all day is much more fun. (I am 26 years old and live with my parents, who support me financially.) Delay gratification? Why would I want to do something crazy like that?

By: Stefan King

Stefan King — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:33:17 +0000

@frelkins

Thank for the Kawasaki quote. Serves as a strong reminder.

By: Cameron Taylor

Cameron Taylor — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:14:01 +0000

Doug S: I likewise find I run on the affect heuristic. In fact, I consciously make my decisions based on the affect heuristic. I’ve actually concluded based on experience that my ‘affect’ is a lot better at making decisions than ‘I’ am in most cases. When I have overriden that instinct I have found that I discover some time later why exactly my ‘affect’ was nudging me in that direction in the first place.

By: Heath S

Heath S — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:08:51 +0000

Is this a major source of projective fallacy?

Person unconsciously learns your beliefs and tries not to be disagreeable. Then you falsely assume that they hold those beliefs?

By: Doug S.

Doug S. — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:12:10 +0000

The strong correlations between unconscious forms of communication and the decisions that result strongly undermines people’s perception that they are making choices based on rational, conscious factors.

I rarely make decisions based on rational, conscious factors. I’m
much more likely to make a decision based on irrational conscious factors, rational subconscious factors, or irrational subconscious factors.

I basically run on the affect heuristic; I usually do what feels good to do.

By: frelkins

frelkins — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:31:53 +0000

@Stefan

“body language”

I agree. I basically give pep talks for a living – wasn’t it Guy Kawasaki who said “if you’re not presenting, you’re not selling, and if you’re not selling, you’re dying?” – let me tell you, your own body language is key, and learning that of others. Cold reading. Always practice your cold reading – but never use your powers for evil!

By: Stefan King

Stefan King — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:50:21 +0000

I discovered this first hand in a sales job on the street. When you perform the same pitch on random people about 40 times an hour, you get a procedural (intuitive) understanding of the factors involved in a sale.

I was surprised at importance of tone and bodylanguage, as opposed to information.

By: Gordon Rae

Gordon Rae — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:50:11 +0000

The Shannon and Weaver model of communication isn’t an accurate account of how human beings communicate with one another.

By: billswift

billswift — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:45:23 +0000

Video and audio are a distraction when considering intellectual matters. Your biases will have a field day with all the intellectually extraneous information you receive. There was research done in the 1980s or 1990s, I haven’t been able to find a reference, that given a written transcript, “juries” performed more accurately than with an audio recording, which in turn was more accurate than an audiovisual.

I meant video and audio of people talking, not video showing how to do something.

By: frelkins

frelkins — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:00:41 +0000

@Stuart

“instantly disliking him or her for no rational reason”

Yes. I’ve always put it down to propinquity + chemistry – literally – vaso reception, vasopressin, and oxytocin, altho’ I realize this is controversial theory without strong proof in humans yet. I’d like to hear other theories on this as well.

A more common theory of first impressions involves balancing factors such as propinquity (proximity in place, social status, kinship, etc), similarity, reciprocal liking, and physical attractiveness.