Well guys, this last reading marks the end of an era. We never have to think about Sam and Mike again. We probably still will but when we do it will be of our own volition.
Anti-Spock propaganda
I hate to say it but I thought this chapter on emotion wasn’t really saying much. Maybe I’m just “not getting it” but it really seems like they’re just saying being curious is a good thing and that you should pay attention to why you feel the way you feel. I don’t think anyone was arguing against that when they said you should keep emotion out of research. It kind of felt like the authors were doing that annoying thing siblings or internet trolls do where they take every word of something literally (without considering the context or intention behind the words) just to “disprove” it and show you how smart they are. “Hey, let’s keep emotion out of research so it’s unbiased.” *Sam pushes up glasses while Mark raises a finger * “WeLl AcKShuaLly…emotion is the reason you’re interested in research to begin with. Did you ever think of that? No, I don’t think you did which is why you’re lucky to have us.”
Brb going to imitate the selective hearing of my dog
This was by far my favorite chapter because the authors adopted my favorite strategy: not caring. Listen, it’s good to care, I’m all for caring, but I don’t always care about research and researching that research in an endless cycle. I’m glad that the authors took the time to recognize that we are mere mortals with a finite amount of time. I thought that explaining attention as a resource made a lot of sense and really added new information and perspective got the book as a whole. I liked that they put it right after the section in the emotion chapter that brought up how feeling overwhelmed might be a sign you need to take a step back (the one piece of advice I thought was a useful addition from that chapter) because I think it really pulled everything together and tied it up with a nice little bow.
AI <——< (This is me shooting AI with an arrow because I’m sick of hearing about it: not the author’s fault btw, I just wanted you to know)
Essentially, AI won’t solve all of your research problems. It can add extra steps though! If you fact check with AI you need to fact check that fact check so you’re better off just not using it.
Comments
2 responses to “The End is Nigh”
I love the mock conversation between the two authors, that made me laugh. I loved how they ended the book on the “not caring” chapter. That added part about information consuming attention really struck a chord with me. It ties the purpose of the whole book together and also reveals to you that everyone is competing for your attention, and you must be mindful of where you put your attention. The added note about fact checking AI’s fact checking is also hilarious. It really can be a 2 steps forward 1 step back, or 1 step forwards 3 steps back kind of thing, and you really won’t know until you fact check it and see.
I actually argue that people do believe that any emotion is a bad sign and an indicator of bias. How often do people get critical of someone delivering a passionate speech, especially if they are not a man. Many people argue that emotion is the enemy against truth, especially on the internet.
I love the idea of comparing critical ignoring to an animal. It made me think of my cat, where I can say his name, his ear flicks, but he just ignores me because he has something “better” to pay attention to. I guess we should take inspiration from our little pets, because they do seem quite happy.