NaClhv

(This is a work in progress, and it may take a while. Come back when it's done.)

What is my overall thesis?

Decisions are binary

Decisions require information, which are continuous

The correctness of a decision is binary, but the wrongness is continuous. There is only one (or a very small fixed set) of "best" decisions, whereas the wrongness can be irrelevant to catastrophic.

The decision itself is binary, but the alternatives are often continuous.

Information is often best collected on a continuous manner, but this is, in a pretty deep sense, an admission of ignorance.

But everything is expensive, and often times shortcuts are necessary. You have to respect that.

Mixing this inappropriately generally leads to bad results.

When binary is right

When binary is wrong

Always towards clearer picture.

In the end, do or do not. Right or wrong. There is only one right answer.

But there are a continuum of decisions to make.

The decision-making process requires full calculations. But not all calculations can be full.

Measure what you can, and make measurable what you can't.

In addition, make finer shades whenever possible.

Don't do Lazy binaries, or out of judgement

Yes, you should hide under your desk for a nuke

Yes, ordering a diet coke helps after ordering a big fast food meal

General "falling off the wagon"

"did you know the nazis were bad? That's why you should be communist!"

Yes, setting arbitrary cutoff for qualifications are bad (e.g. for dating). Even non-arbitrary cutoffs can be bad.

You're dead or alive. You're pregnant or not.

Even these binaries break down into continua, but even those continua break down into binaries.

"statistical significance" is often oversold. So is "trust the science".

Yes, laws are not absolute

Laws mediated through many layers

Laws to account for random chance, etc.

Games like chess or Go, and a good or multipurpose move.

"if 100 guilty man go free.." etc.

"let justice be done though the heavens fall"

Lots of errors in politics: "you'll waste your vote", "you have vote: more voter participation", "if A then B then C..."

Gender binaries.

"If you break one law, you're a lawbreaker"

"if you're not for us, then you're against us"

"if you're not against us, then you may be for us"