Nubis
unread,Feb 7, 2012, 10:54:15 PM2/7/12Sign in to reply to author
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to Singapore Ruby Brigade
It was fun, and I'm glad we've got to share the time. I really liked
the roids talk as far as the technology goes, but I also felt that it
was a bit ambiguous on the regard of interpretations that can be made
from it. If it's just roids going on the screen and we're having fun
watching them is one thing. Anyone who understands some processes in
the world and knows a bit about programming, can build a model that
helps explain to others how they see things. The model does not bring
in any new information, and it only serves as an aid to explain an
argument or particular position.
The intent of proving "why the rich get rich and the poor get poorer
unless the system is regulated" immediately evokes Framing and
Confirmation Bias, and I saw this nice poster about cognitive bias at
hackerspace once that suggests the intention of many is not to fall
for it.
With enough time, someone could build a simulation that includes
commerce and increases in production, or generation of wealth through
individuals voluntarily interchanging energy. And then have a
'redistribution of energy' agent or dimension which randomly puts
limits on exchanges and production and sends the gained energy to some
other particular roids. All this just to have some slides that use
sentences like "Equality doesn't matter, as It's better to be the poor
in a rich simulation than the rich in a poor simulation" or "The
simulation becomes richer the less the redistribution agent is
involved". These claims would be equally biased, of course. I would
love to build a simulation that results in them, or even in the
opposite, as I said yesterday. (I may consider it once I find a job
and get some time to focus on interesting side projects).
I guess what I'm saying is that as a humble participant and possible
customer, I love technology and I hate cognitive bias, and I
understood (maybe misunderstood?) the presentation as having both. In
my opinion presenting utopia and roids as 'A framework for building
simulations in order to explain an argument' is more realistic, cool,
and appealing. If reaching out is the goal, then maybe there's no need
to phrase pseudo conclusions in a way in which they sound too
political and bring concerns about the author really giving importance
to them or the framework being more suited to build simulations with
particular outcomes.
Again it was great to meet all of you guys and I hope to see Sau again
talking more about some other chapters in his book :)
cheers
----nubis :)