Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by erasmuse 3145 days ago
Yes, our understanding gets more refined the more we learn. It remains messy, error-prone and incomplete. So the solution can never be to learn things 'well' or get things right first time or produce perfect teachers/videos or something like that. The solution is to go on correcting misconceptions where we are interested. Ken Shirriff's blog, mncharity's website, comments here and so on simply are part of the ongoing spontaneous correction process. Like the contents of a cell, they may look crazy and disorganised but they get the job done.
1 comments
bumbledraven 3144 days ago
Hi erasmuse, the Fallible Ideas mailing list (http://fallibleideas.com/discussion) would be a more fruitful place to discuss your ideas. There, openness to new ideas is valued, as is being willing to discuss disagreements persistently until resolution.

http://fallibleideas.com/paths-forward

link
erasmuse 3142 days ago
I doubt it. New ideas develop slowly and can't be communicated or explained until they are ready. If you look at creative intellectuals they work alone or, rarely, in pairs. Discussion to the point of resolution would be more like politics or opinion-leading; perhaps necessary for defence or for sorting out existing ideas but otherwise harmful to progress.
link
bumbledraven 3140 days ago
Work has multiple parts. Some work is done alone, some in pairs, and some in a public group. The public group part has value and importance: for example, getting more variety of criticism and other feedback such as what people don't understand. Work done in a public group also helps others learn, so that's good.

If, hypothetically, you should join the group, in what way could you find that out? What would change your mind?

Example of Fallible Ideas thinking: http://fallibleideas.com/taking-children-seriously

link
erasmuse 3139 days ago
>What would change your mind?

Something like historical examples of fundamental breakthroughs in science or great works of art produced by committee.

Criticism is for stuff one doesn't like, which is why it belongs firmly in the public realm of news, politics, etc. A group isn't public. When it comes to your private work, ignore criticism and trust your intuition. Ideas need room to grow just like children do.

link