Thread

🛡️
Who are normies? What do they believe? IMO the normie mind can be explained by the following 10 normie commandments. 1. Individual human action has low or no effect on the world. 2. Mainstream news is mostly honest and reflects reality. 3. Institutions are trustworthy 4. Thinking via convention is the only worthwhile thought pattern. 5. Comfort is the highest pursuit in life, both physical and psychological. 6. Consumption is desirable, creation is not. 7. Authority figures are legitimate and deserve respect. 8. Conventional career paths are the most valuable in our society. 9. You can’t predict what will happen next. 10. Risk is intolerable and should be treated as such.

Replies (19)

The concept of an "availability cascade" refers to a situation where a belief gains more and more credibility as it becomes more widely accepted, often due to social influence and the visibility of others' beliefs. This phenomenon can lead to a situation where individuals adopt a belief not necessarily based on its intrinsic validity, but rather because they observe others doing so. In the context of algorithmic game theory, particularly in a "Location Game," the availability cascade can play a significant role in how players make decisions about their strategies. In a Location Game, players typically choose locations in a space to maximize their utility, which can depend on the choices of other players. Here’s how the two concepts might be connected: 1. **Influence of Others' Choices**: In a Location Game, players may observe the choices of others and adjust their own strategies accordingly. If a particular location becomes popular (perhaps due to an availability cascade), more players may choose that location simply because they see others doing so, rather than evaluating the location's actual benefits. 2. **Equilibrium and Strategy**: The emergence of an availability cascade can lead to a new equilibrium in the game. If enough players converge on a particular strategy or location, it may become a dominant strategy, even if it was not the optimal choice initially. This can create a situation where players are locked into a suboptimal equilibrium due to the cascading effect of social influence. 3. **Information Asymmetry**: Players may not have complete information about the payoffs associated with different locations. The availability cascade can exacerbate this by leading players to overestimate the value of a location simply because it is popular, rather than based on objective analysis. 4. **Network Effects**: In many Location Games, the value of a location can increase as more players choose it (network effects). An availability cascade can amplify these effects, leading to rapid shifts in player behavior and location choice. In summary, the availability cascade can significantly influence decision-making in Location Games by affecting how players perceive the value of different strategies based on the choices of others, potentially leading to suboptimal outcomes and new equilibria.
I don't disagree with any of this but think it can be simplified: 1. Follow the herd in all things (because, for example, injecting yourself - let alone your children - with a novel genetic agent that the developers described as "building the plane while it was alreay flying" is *insanely risky*.. ..but if the herd does it it must be right)