Kevin Simler
Writer and engineer behind the blog Melting Asphalt, and co-author with Robin Hanson of The Elephant in the Brain.
Kevin Simler did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsAnd increasingly I'm convinced that much of what makes humans unique - including our taste in beauty - is our hunger for prestige.
↗A Natural History of Beautymeltingasphalt.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsDominance is based on fear (who can hurt me?), whereas prestige is based on attraction (who can help me?).
↗A Natural History of Beautymeltingasphalt.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsBut no man rules by dominance alone; every leader finds use for the carrot as well as the stick.
↗A Natural History of Beautymeltingasphalt.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 14 months earlier
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Their wordsSimple verbal persuasion - changing listeners' minds merely by exposing them to ideas - is too weak to have the kind of effects that sermons seem to have.
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Their wordsA proper sermon, then, is an attempt to cultivate a network effect around a shared value - and the preacher herself acts as a seed around which the network crystallizes.
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Their wordsAnd this, I'm a bit sad to report, is why outrage is so contagious. Outrage is like the angry, pitchfork-wielding cousin of the more conventional, respectable type of sermon. But it's a member of the sermon family nonetheless, and therefore subject to all the dynamics we've discussed here today.
- 10 months earlier
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Their wordsI contend that social incentives are the root of all our biggest thinking errors.
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Their wordsIf a belief isn't actionable, or if the actions we might take based on the belief (e.g., voting) don't provide material benefits one way or the other, then it's more likely to be a crony.
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Their wordsBut perhaps the biggest hallmark of epistemic cronyism is exhibiting strong emotions, as when we feel proud of a belief, anguish over changing our minds, or anger at being challenged or criticized.
- 4 months earlier
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Their wordsA thing X will be perceived as meaningful in context C to the extent that it's connected to other meaningful things in C.
↗A Nihilist's Guide to Meaningmeltingasphalt.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsMeaning, on the other hand, is entangled with external reality, making it possible to be wrong about it.
↗A Nihilist's Guide to Meaningmeltingasphalt.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsBut I think it's more accurate to say that fame enhances meaning, perhaps by acting as a scaling factor.
↗A Nihilist's Guide to Meaningmeltingasphalt.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 5 months earlier
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Our reading
Every failure of collective action, including climate change, is caused by the free-rider problem.
Their wordsEvery failure to take collective action, every tragedy of the commons - including global climate change - arises because of the free-rider problem.
↗Minimum Viable Superorganismmeltingasphalt.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordswhenever one man is strong enough to rule by himself, he's better off expropriating his subjects rather than cajoling them to work together.
↗Minimum Viable Superorganismmeltingasphalt.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsIndividuals should grant social status to others for advancing the superorganism's goals.
↗Minimum Viable Superorganismmeltingasphalt.com 3rd of 3 in this piece