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> Comments like this are why I don't even go to articles anymore I stand by my assertion that this is an unhealthy, and lazy, attitude. > Upvotes on an articl

by sho 9y ago

> Comments like this are why I don't even go to articles anymore I stand by my assertion that this is an unhealthy, and lazy, attitude. > Upvotes on an article don't mean endorsement of all the claims It's pretty close. Certainly if I upvote an article I am basically endorsing it. What else do you think people upvote for?

Dylan16807 9y ago
I upvote a lot of things I think are interesting but would not state full confidence in. I'm not an expert on most things.
- sho 9y ago
  Me neither of course. And an upvote is not an ironclad endorsement. But at least you look at what you upvote - or at least I hope you do. You're not exactly disagreeing with me, are you? The stupid thing is I actually happen to agree with "beat" that this study is basically bullshit. I just can't condone the attitude of the first replier. It worked this time but he or she has learned the wrong heuristic IMO. I guess I don't know how to express myself well but I think it's the wrong lesson to learn from criticism of the articles we see here - even if the criticism is (currently) right.
  - Dylan16807 9y ago
    > You're not exactly disagreeing with me, are you? I definitely disagree with "Many people here are actually pretty smart, and more than a hundred of them felt otherwise." An article upvote is not necessarily a statement of "this is not bullshit". Most of those people have likely not performed a critical analysis and decided on that issue. And there are no article downvotes, so there's always the possibility of an invisible majority against the article's conclusion.
    - sho 9y ago
      And so exactly how is the top-most comment more reliable than the article then? Same people voting, same lack of critical analysis. At least the bloody author probably spent more than 5 seconds making up his mind. > I don't even go to articles anymore You're endorsing this as best practise. Right? Because that was my argument, that this is not best practise. Note that if everyone followed this practise, this site would fall apart. edited - turns out i do want to continue arguing about it
      - Dylan16807 9y ago
        It's good to read the articles, but that's not the part I objected to in your comment. I objected to the idea that there is always someone claiming bullshit and it's white noise, or that upvotes imply not-bullshit. In other words, you can get a good idea of whether something is bullshit without reading, but you should still give it a look anyway. I agree with part of what you said, but not the other part.
        sho 9y ago
        Fair enough. On the face of it I don't disagree with your points. I should have expressed myself more clearly from the beginning. Wish you'd look at it from the other direction though. Skipping reading articles because of assertions of the currently-top comment's dismissals is a recipe for groupthink and circle-jerks. Upvotes at least reflect a general consensus that an article has some merit. The top comment may indeed credibly refute an article - but the attitude of "I don't even go to articles anymore" is not that of someone seeking the truth. Instead, it's that of a lost soul looking for his "team" to join, and avoiding any contradictory information.

by sho 9y ago

Dylan16807 9y ago

I upvote a lot of things I think are interesting but would not state full confidence in. I'm not an expert on most things.

sho 9y ago
Me neither of course. And an upvote is not an ironclad endorsement. But at least you look at what you upvote - or at least I hope you do. You're not exactly disagreeing with me, are you? The stupid thing is I actually happen to agree with "beat" that this study is basically bullshit. I just can't condone the attitude of the first replier. It worked this time but he or she has learned the wrong heuristic IMO. I guess I don't know how to express myself well but I think it's the wrong lesson to learn from criticism of the articles we see here - even if the criticism is (currently) right.
- Dylan16807 9y ago
  > You're not exactly disagreeing with me, are you? I definitely disagree with "Many people here are actually pretty smart, and more than a hundred of them felt otherwise." An article upvote is not necessarily a statement of "this is not bullshit". Most of those people have likely not performed a critical analysis and decided on that issue. And there are no article downvotes, so there's always the possibility of an invisible majority against the article's conclusion.
  - sho 9y ago
    And so exactly how is the top-most comment more reliable than the article then? Same people voting, same lack of critical analysis. At least the bloody author probably spent more than 5 seconds making up his mind. > I don't even go to articles anymore You're endorsing this as best practise. Right? Because that was my argument, that this is not best practise. Note that if everyone followed this practise, this site would fall apart. edited - turns out i do want to continue arguing about it
    - Dylan16807 9y ago
      It's good to read the articles, but that's not the part I objected to in your comment. I objected to the idea that there is always someone claiming bullshit and it's white noise, or that upvotes imply not-bullshit. In other words, you can get a good idea of whether something is bullshit without reading, but you should still give it a look anyway. I agree with part of what you said, but not the other part.
      - sho 9y ago
        Fair enough. On the face of it I don't disagree with your points. I should have expressed myself more clearly from the beginning. Wish you'd look at it from the other direction though. Skipping reading articles because of assertions of the currently-top comment's dismissals is a recipe for groupthink and circle-jerks. Upvotes at least reflect a general consensus that an article has some merit. The top comment may indeed credibly refute an article - but the attitude of "I don't even go to articles anymore" is not that of someone seeking the truth. Instead, it's that of a lost soul looking for his "team" to join, and avoiding any contradictory information.