All of HumanFlesh's Comments + Replies

Could you give an example of "three reasons why [x] is good, and one broader conceptual reason why it might not be”? I’m not sure I follow.

Now I have no idea what it means.

To 'Flip a coin' is to choose randomly between two options.

I prefer the term 'endowed' because our adaptations are often sub-optimal.

You may want to distinguish classical conditioning from operant conditioning.

Behavioral science and cognitive science had a turf war over control of psychology departments in the mid-twentieth century. We like to recite the criticisms that became tropes in that war in order to pat ourselves on the back.

The link contends the terminology used to describe superstitious behaviour. It doesn't claim that an arbitrary schedule of reinforcement has no effect on the pigeon behaviour.

Cite please.

Skinner avoided appeals to internal states and demonstrated how schedules of reinforcement affected behaviour.

I liked Frailty. Without giving too much away, it demonstrates how any agent with god-like powers could make you believe whatever it wants you to believe. Therefore if you ever find yourself in a universe in which gods and powerful demons exist and have an interest in influencing your life, you could fall into a situation where you have no means of determining which gods or demons are best aligned with your long-term goals. Also, a sufficiently cogent propaganda campaign could have a good chance of convincing you to commit atrocities.

Sorry about the redundant post. I would delete it, but I feel that Jayson_Virissimo's comment is worth archiving.

You are right. However, I don't think the advice was meant to be used to evaluate weather or not a given essay is boring. I found it helpful because it provided a simple rule that I used to change my writing habits. I had a vague sense that some of my sentences were stilted, but I didn't know how to remedy that problem. Not everyone will get the same utility from creative restrictions, but I find them inspiring.

I found this discussion of the passive voice helpful.

I know a woman whose husband had been taking her office supplies, leaving her to think that her memory was seriously erratic.

That's called gaslighting.

Hypertrophy Specific Training lists research that supports their training regimens.

People generally respect doctors. Medical intervention can lend legitimacy to a condition.

If punishing tornados changed their behaviour, then we would try to punish tornados. An event appears to be intentional (chosen) when it's controlled by contingencies of reward and punishment.

There are exceptions to this characterisation of will. When there is a power imbalance between those delegating rewards and punishments and those being influenced by rewards and punishments, the decision is sometimes seen as less than free, and deemed exploitation. Parents and governments are generally given more leeway with regards to power imbalances.

When particul... (read more)

Mephedrone clinics? Do you mean methadone clinics?

That's true, however people with severe hearing loss can often hear faint sounds provided the sounds contain frequencies that stimulate the cilia in their cochlea that remain undamaged. A person with normal hearing will tend to tolerate more audio interference than a hearing impaired person.

Are you implying that Jesus' crucifixion was an example of suicide via cop?

If you show me a photo of a non-modular analog synthesizer manufactured between the years 1971-1995, there is a good chance that I can name it and tell you how many oscillators it has.

Physiology of Behavior by Neil R. Carlson

What does SASS stand for?

Adrafinil is similar to modafinil, only it's much cheaper because its patent has expired.

They're not ethnic slurs.

They both live in cities.

People can become so used to certain styles and colors that they don't even classify certain sartorial habits as fashion. They don't notice the cultural currents that surround them anymore than a fish notices that it's wet. To them, the word fashion is associated with only the most loud and heavily marketed forms of fashion.

It's similar to how people associate the word diet with slimming diets. In truth, as long as we are eating, we have a diet. And as long as we dress ourselves, we are making fashion decisions.

Conservative garb is not necessarily timeless... (read more)

Which conjunction do you find odd? Is it the "and" between lapel and tie?

In London, there is a reasonable overlap between set businessmen and set lager louts.

The books that I mentioned discuss many kinds of signaling, not just sexual semiotics. Sometimes people wear uncomfortable shoes not to look hot, but merely to avoid looking like a proletariat.

Read Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class and Zahavi's Handicap Principle if you'd like to know the answer.

But by 2015, that stigma will be gone and purple has a chance to come "back in style".

Six years seems too soon for a style to come back into fashion. People sometimes keep a garment in rotation for six years, so it would be hard to distinguish the people who intentionally adopt an old style from those who never bothered to update their wardrobe. It can also take six or more years for a style that's first accepted in Manhattan to spread to Topeka.

Fashions tend to run in 15 to 30 year cycles. In this way, a style can seem new to teenagers and no... (read more)

Stereotypically feminine colors (e.g. pink and purple) for shirts and ties were popular among London's businessmen in 2002. Not long after that, lager louts and Essex wide boys took a shine to pink polo shirts -- typically worn with the collar popped. Eventually chavs, spides, neds, and scally lads began to collect pink shirts sold in market stalls.

Young men in New Jersey and other guido (AKA gino) habitats were seen wearing pink polo shirts in 2004. The fashion eventually trickled down to garden-variety North American dudebros.

Conservatism filters clothing from status signals, making other signals relatively stronger.

Designer suits, Savile Row suits, and bespoke brogues are among the most expensive garments men can buy. Surely there is status signalling involved in conservative fashions. Granted, the logos are typically less conspicuous in formal, semi-formal, and business attire, but doesn't that just signal refinement?

Designer jeans and expensive basketball shoes were largely unheard of until the late 1970s. The peacock signaling that you associate with clubwear may just be... (read more)

One doesn't necessarily "sidestep fashion" by dressing conservatively. Desired lapel and tie widths change over the years. Do you care if your clothes have stains or holes? That signals something about your fashion sense.

Figuring out which clothes appeal to the shifting tastes of various audiences in various social settings is not easy for someone who suffers from schizophrenia, autism, trisomy 21, severe depression, or other affliction that impairs one's will or ability to conform to mercurial social trends.

Even someone who buys desirable brand... (read more)