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I'm always reminded of Kubrick's comments on the risk of nuclear weapons: "People react primarily to direct experience and not to abstractions; it is very rare

I'm always reminded of Kubrick's comments on the risk of nuclear weapons: "People react primarily to direct experience and not to abstractions; it is very rare to find anyone who can become emotionally involved with an abstraction. The longer the bomb is around without anything happening, the better the job that people do in psychologically denying its existence. It has become as abstract as the fact that we are all going to die someday, which we usually do an excellent job of denying." [0] That last bit invokes some of the research behind Terror Management Theory: first and foremost, we are wired to avoid risks to our survival. But that drive is mediated by subjective qualia: avoiding mortal fear. The best way to do that is to prevent circumstances of immediate danger: don't poke the bear, don't play near the edge of a cliff. But when it comes to dangers of limited individual agency (systemic risk, black swans), it makes complete sense that evolution would select for "try not to think about it". [0] https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/11/27/jeremy-bernstein-stanley-kubrick-interview/ https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/11/27/jeremy-bernstein-s...

agumonkey 5y ago
Maybe the scope limit of our deep brains is only a "thing" in large groups. Being short sighted is nothing if you're alone, you trip, you choke, you get whacked by a rock. In a semi organized society, the sudden too-late-bound reflex triggers an avalanche of failure.
- lukifer 5y ago
  I would generally agree, which is why I think the discourse around "misinformation" (IMO, both a legitimate concern, and a moral panic) is missing the forest for the trees. Our failures to respond reasonably and proportionally to threats, be they ecological, medical, economic, military, even political, are all downstream of a crisis of trust, not only in institutions, but in each other. And as with broken trust in personal relationships, rebuilding that trust is non-trivial.

agumonkey 5y ago

Maybe the scope limit of our deep brains is only a "thing" in large groups. Being short sighted is nothing if you're alone, you trip, you choke, you get whacked by a rock. In a semi organized society, the sudden too-late-bound reflex triggers an avalanche of failure.

lukifer 5y ago
I would generally agree, which is why I think the discourse around "misinformation" (IMO, both a legitimate concern, and a moral panic) is missing the forest for the trees. Our failures to respond reasonably and proportionally to threats, be they ecological, medical, economic, military, even political, are all downstream of a crisis of trust, not only in institutions, but in each other. And as with broken trust in personal relationships, rebuilding that trust is non-trivial.