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We just saw an article about why advice is dumb and not helpful, now this article is talking about how if we could just follow all the advice then we would be h

We just saw an article about why advice is dumb and not helpful, now this article is talking about how if we could just follow all the advice then we would be happy. Sorry to break it to you, there's a reason we arent all following "sage advice" from others. Its because advice fails to internalize the near infinite amount of context that is some persons life. We cant even give really sound advice on something as mathmatical as which stock to invest in. How the heck are we going to give advice on what to spend your time on? The world is so many infinities more complicated than people seem to think.

surprisetalk 2y ago
Author here! I totally agree. If you are the captain of your ship, following others' treasure maps is problematic. Maps cannot anticipate the weather, the holes in your ship, the skill of your steering, etc. I'm moreso interested in a few tangential questions: • What metaskills can I acquire to more quickly integrate practical information into my life? • What behaviors/beliefs are preventing me from accepting useful/true information? • If advice/coaching becomes 10x better through technology (big "if" haha), am I equipped to accept and enact it?
- from-nibly 2y ago
  > If advice/coaching becomes 10x better through technology (big "if" haha), am I equipped to accept and enact it? This is what I am arguing though. Even if it was a million times better it wouldnt matter. Advice is inherently useless. Making it better doesn't help. Purifying water more doesn't make it better at conducting electricity because water doesn't conduct electricity. And the fact that water can conduct electricity is because, accidentally, it might have other compounds in it that do conduct electricity. The thing we need to focus on is figuring out how to obtain and apply truth. We already have access to enough truth to keep us busy for lifetimes. Its not going to be a technological solution and its not transferrable to other people ( see everything as theory building).
  - surprisetalk 2y ago
    Ah, thanks for the clarification. To me, "advice" seems like an attempt to propagate truth and truth-seeking tools. I'm not very good with semantics though. Either way, if people (or machines) want to try and get such truths through my bone-brain barrier, I'm all for it :)

surprisetalk 2y ago

Author here! I totally agree. If you are the captain of your ship, following others' treasure maps is problematic. Maps cannot anticipate the weather, the holes in your ship, the skill of your steering, etc. I'm moreso interested in a few tangential questions: • What metaskills can I acquire to more quickly integrate practical information into my life? • What behaviors/beliefs are preventing me from accepting useful/true information? • If advice/coaching becomes 10x better through technology (big "if" haha), am I equipped to accept and enact it?

from-nibly 2y ago
> If advice/coaching becomes 10x better through technology (big "if" haha), am I equipped to accept and enact it? This is what I am arguing though. Even if it was a million times better it wouldnt matter. Advice is inherently useless. Making it better doesn't help. Purifying water more doesn't make it better at conducting electricity because water doesn't conduct electricity. And the fact that water can conduct electricity is because, accidentally, it might have other compounds in it that do conduct electricity. The thing we need to focus on is figuring out how to obtain and apply truth. We already have access to enough truth to keep us busy for lifetimes. Its not going to be a technological solution and its not transferrable to other people ( see everything as theory building).
- surprisetalk 2y ago
  Ah, thanks for the clarification. To me, "advice" seems like an attempt to propagate truth and truth-seeking tools. I'm not very good with semantics though. Either way, if people (or machines) want to try and get such truths through my bone-brain barrier, I'm all for it :)