You Can’t Think That!
Think with Pinker
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The Psychology of Taboo
Sometimes we avoid seemingly rational lines reasoning, not from illogic or innumeracy but from morality. We feel that some thoughts are evil to think - when it comes to base rates for human groups this is bigotry. But taboos may not be so rational and we transplant our intuitions about our immediate social circles into the world at large. Just as you can't follow the instruction, don't think about a polar bear without thinking about a polar Bear, discussing when to apply a taboo, can itself be tabooed. This makes me especially grateful to doctor sally sattel, and professor philip tetlock, for thinking the unthinkable.
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