Since, per Joe Henrich, culture is also the secret to our success, it does not seem quite that wise to laud others merely for being non-conformist to various subcultures. Instead, an economist should want <i>efficient</i> non-conformism. I don't know of a mechanism to select for that, but it's the sort of thing Robin might come up with.
Anyone else love Brian's work and read this religiously for new insights, but find it a bit jarring when someone who is in agreement with 95% of the ruling political dogmas calls himself a non-conformist?
Unlike gnus, each individual human can create their own unique IDENTITY through the choices and actions they take. This is true DIVERSITY.
The evolution of some human cultures to allow INDIVIDUAL freedom to not conform without being burned at the stake explains most progress in what we call "civilization" over the last 300 years.
Although many humans are conformists and think that inconsequential birth characteristics "define" their identity, it took only a small minority of non conformists to create the enormous wealth that separates us from the dark ages.
Robin Hanson writes that culture is about coordination:
https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/culture-is-coordination
Since, per Joe Henrich, culture is also the secret to our success, it does not seem quite that wise to laud others merely for being non-conformist to various subcultures. Instead, an economist should want <i>efficient</i> non-conformism. I don't know of a mechanism to select for that, but it's the sort of thing Robin might come up with.
Anyone else love Brian's work and read this religiously for new insights, but find it a bit jarring when someone who is in agreement with 95% of the ruling political dogmas calls himself a non-conformist?
"OUR NON CONFORMITY IS OUR STRENGTH"
Unlike gnus, each individual human can create their own unique IDENTITY through the choices and actions they take. This is true DIVERSITY.
The evolution of some human cultures to allow INDIVIDUAL freedom to not conform without being burned at the stake explains most progress in what we call "civilization" over the last 300 years.
Although many humans are conformists and think that inconsequential birth characteristics "define" their identity, it took only a small minority of non conformists to create the enormous wealth that separates us from the dark ages.