Comments on: Gottschall’s Gotcha http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html Overcoming Bias is economist Robin Hanson’s blog, on honesty, signaling, disagreement, forecasting, and the far future. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:09:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: mark larson | Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (review: 4/5) http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-430666 mark larson | Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (review: 4/5) Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:19:19 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-430666 [...] Hanson of Overcoming Bias is obsessed with signaling, and he has a nice series of posts about the [...] [...] Hanson of Overcoming Bias is obsessed with signaling, and he has a nice series of posts about the [...]

]]> By: Doug S. http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384303 Doug S. Fri, 22 May 2009 04:55:43 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384303 "First Law of Communication: The purpose of communication is to advance the communicator." - Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat “First Law of Communication: The purpose of communication is to advance the communicator.” – Putt’s Law and the Successful Technocrat

]]> By: Anon http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384302 Anon Wed, 20 May 2009 22:00:09 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384302 @Tomasz Wegrzanowski: Three times a week, my group of friends plays basketball with other groups. We spend evenings running, sweating, showing off to onlookers, trash-talking, and jockeying for position in our friendship coalition. What a waste of time, right? Everybody knows that basketball is a zero-sum game! If only we could escape such a miserable prisoner's dilemma! Come on. Truly, competition of this sort is the spice of life. @Tomasz Wegrzanowski:

Three times a week, my group of friends plays basketball with other groups. We spend evenings running, sweating, showing off to onlookers, trash-talking, and jockeying for position in our friendship coalition. What a waste of time, right? Everybody knows that basketball is a zero-sum game! If only we could escape such a miserable prisoner’s dilemma!

Come on. Truly, competition of this sort is the spice of life.

]]> By: antianticamper http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384301 antianticamper Wed, 20 May 2009 21:36:18 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384301 newerspeak, "featureless?" this seems interesting. antianticamper newerspeak,

“featureless?” this seems interesting.

antianticamper

]]> By: Tomasz Wegrzanowski http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384300 Tomasz Wegrzanowski Wed, 20 May 2009 21:28:42 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384300 George Weinberg: Signaling is like prisoner's dilemma - everybody would be better off if everybody spent less time, money, and effort on signaling, but then anybody who signals more than others wins. So it's quite natural to dislike the entire game, even if you're pretty good at it. George Weinberg: Signaling is like prisoner’s dilemma – everybody would be better off if everybody spent less time, money, and effort on signaling, but then anybody who signals more than others wins. So it’s quite natural to dislike the entire game, even if you’re pretty good at it.

]]> By: George Weinberg http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384299 George Weinberg Wed, 20 May 2009 20:49:52 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384299 So, are our anonymous commenters not interested in signalling, or are they just going about it really badly? So, are our anonymous commenters not interested in signalling, or are they just going about it really badly?

]]> By: Silas http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384298 Silas Wed, 20 May 2009 20:25:45 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384298 Interesting. I noticed the author of Kludge: The haphazard construction of the human mind do the same thing: he kept inserting gratuitous references to his academic affiliations, the actresses he's met at parties, etc. Wait! Now I'm signaling my well-read-ness! Doh! Interesting. I noticed the author of Kludge: The haphazard construction of the human mind do the same thing: he kept inserting gratuitous references to his academic affiliations, the actresses he’s met at parties, etc.

Wait! Now I’m signaling my well-read-ness! Doh!

]]> By: Anon http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384297 Anon Wed, 20 May 2009 16:33:59 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384297 In all these posts, amazingly, I don't think anybody has said this yet: I like signalling. I like watching other people signal, too, and I like competing with them. I like playing sports, telling and hearing jokes, discussing philosophy and economics (I'm here, aren't I?), listening to and playing music, flirting, lekking, and earning money. I'm not a complete dick about it, but that's part of the signalling, too. Humans competing with other humans generates almost all of the complexity, humor, frustration, fun, pain, and challenges of life. I like signalling - it's as human and as enjoyable as eating! In all these posts, amazingly, I don’t think anybody has said this yet: I like signalling. I like watching other people signal, too, and I like competing with them.

I like playing sports, telling and hearing jokes, discussing philosophy and economics (I’m here, aren’t I?), listening to and playing music, flirting, lekking, and earning money. I’m not a complete dick about it, but that’s part of the signalling, too. Humans competing with other humans generates almost all of the complexity, humor, frustration, fun, pain, and challenges of life. I like signalling – it’s as human and as enjoyable as eating!

]]> By: newerspeak http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384296 newerspeak Wed, 20 May 2009 12:37:00 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384296 "...my many features." I'd just like to say that **I** am featureless. “…my many features.”

I’d just like to say that **I** am featureless.

]]> By: Erich http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/the-reflexive-gottschall.html#comment-384295 Erich Wed, 20 May 2009 11:42:22 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2009/05/gottschalls-gotcha.html#comment-384295 Luis, communicating is a way to convey signals, so implicitly, Robin's posts (as with any other human communication) both contain his opinion on a particular subject along with signals to his status/ability/loyalty. Luis, communicating is a way to convey signals, so implicitly, Robin’s posts (as with any other human communication) both contain his opinion on a particular subject along with signals to his status/ability/loyalty.

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