(no subject)

The Art Of Mutilation

Thanks muchly to shadesong for the link!

great quote

"This is how our pre-civilization/pre-agriculture ancestors behaved, so this is how we should behave." is not a logically sound argument. I've been hearing this one a lot lately regarding diet. Just because our prehistoric ancestors survived on certain dietary patterns doesn't mean that those patterns are the optimal solution for humans, period. (Actually I question whether there is a universally optimal diet, but never mind). It just means that it was good enough for them to survive on. This is just another incarnation of the evolution as optimization function fallacy. We didn't evolve to do anything."*
- zare_k (bold mine)

And even then, optimization must be measured in terms of something.  This is something economists often forget when they talk about "efficiency".  They forget (because their cultural assumptions are so deeply embedded) or are intentionally hiding what they are trying to optimize for.



* well, except transmit dna