Annotations (8)
“The more conventional-minded someone is, the more it seems to them that it's safe for everyone to express their opinions. It's safe for them to express their opinions, because the source of their opinions is whatever it's currently acceptable to believe. So it seems to them that it must be safe for everyone. They literally can't imagine a true statement that would get you in trouble.”
Psychology & Behavior · Philosophy & Reasoning · Culture & Society
DUR_ENDURING
Conformists cannot perceive their own conformity
“At every point in history, there were true things that would get you in trouble to say. Is ours the first where this isn't so? What an amazing coincidence that would be. Surely it should at least be the default assumption that our time is not unique, and that there are true things you can't say now, just as there have always been.”
Philosophy & Reasoning · History & Geopolitics · Culture & Society
DUR_ENDURING
Historical induction: taboos exist in every era
“It may be possible to convince some people that orthodox privilege must exist even though they can't sense it, just as one can with, say, dark matter. There may be some who could be convinced, for example, that it's very unlikely that this is the first point in history at which there's nothing true you can't say, even if they can't imagine specific examples.”
Philosophy & Reasoning · Psychology & Behavior
DUR_ENDURING
Prove unobservable via historical induction
“It doesn't seem to conventional-minded people that they're conventional-minded. It just seems to them that they're right. Indeed, they tend to be particularly sure of it.”
Psychology & Behavior · Philosophy & Reasoning
DUR_ENDURING
Conformists feel maximum certainty
“This is a uniquely tenacious form of privilege. People can overcome the blindness induced by most forms of privilege by learning more about whatever they're not. But they can't overcome orthodox privilege just by learning more. They'd have to become more independent-minded. If that happens at all, it doesn't happen on the time scale of one conversation.”
Psychology & Behavior · Philosophy & Reasoning
DUR_ENDURING
Information cannot fix character; only time can
“If someone says they can hear a high-pitched noise that you can't, it's only polite to take them at their word, instead of demanding evidence that's impossible to produce, or simply denying that they hear anything. Imagine how rude that would seem. Similarly, if someone says they can think of things that are true but that cannot be said, it's only polite to take them at their word, even if you can't think of any yourself.”
Philosophy & Reasoning · Psychology & Behavior
DUR_ENDURING
Politeness requires epistemic humility
“In the most extreme cases, people suffering from orthodox privilege will not only deny that there's anything true that you can't say, but will accuse you of heresy merely for saying there is. Though if there's more than one heresy current in your time, these accusations will be weirdly non-deterministic: you must either be an xist or a yist.”
Psychology & Behavior · Culture & Society
DUR_ENDURING
Orthodoxy defenders demand binary tribal classification
“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.”— Albert Einstein
Psychology & Behavior · Philosophy & Reasoning
DUR_ENDURING
Most cannot even form heretical thoughts
Frameworks (1)
Arguing from Unobservables
Convincing Others of Invisible Patterns via Analogy
When trying to convince someone of a pattern they cannot directly observe, use analogies to accepted unobservables in other domains. Dark matter cannot be seen but is accepted because its effects are measurable. Similarly, orthodox privilege cannot be directly sensed by those who have it, but historical induction makes its existence logically necessary. The framework: identify the unobservable claim, find an analogous accepted unobservable, demonstrate the logical parallel, argue from probability rather than certainty.
Components
- Identify the unobservable claim
- Find an analogous accepted unobservable
- Demonstrate the logical parallel
- Argue from probability, not certainty
Prerequisites
- Understanding of the pattern you're trying to prove
- Knowledge of accepted unobservables in the target's domain
Success Indicators
- Target acknowledges the logical parallel
- Target shifts from denial to probabilistic acceptance
Failure Modes
- Analogy is rejected as non-equivalent
- Target refuses to accept any unobservables
- Argument comes across as condescending
Mental Models (6)
Blind Spot Bias
PsychologyPeople are better at recognizing biases in others than in themselves.
In Practice: Core mechanism explaining why orthodox privilege is difficult to overcome
Demonstrated by Leg-pg-001
Historical Induction
Decision MakingUsing patterns from history to make probabilistic claims about the present.
In Practice: Argument structure for proving orthodox privilege exists
Demonstrated by Leg-pg-001
Binary Classification Fallacy
PsychologyThe tendency to force complex positions into one of two tribal camps.
In Practice: Pattern of how orthodox privilege manifests in discourse
Demonstrated by Leg-pg-001
Character vs. Information Asymmetry
TimeInformation deficits can be solved quickly by providing data. Character deficits
In Practice: Explanation of why orthodox privilege is uniquely difficult to overcome
Demonstrated by Leg-pg-001
Inverse Confidence Correlation
PsychologyThe more conventional a belief, the more certain its holder tends to be.
In Practice: Observation about the psychology of orthodox privilege
Demonstrated by Leg-pg-001
Formation vs. Expression Barrier
PsychologyTwo levels of intellectual conformity: the lower barrier is expressing heterodox opinions, the higher is even forming them.
In Practice: Einstein quote establishing the deep nature of conformity
Demonstrated by Leg-pg-001
Connective Tissue (2)
Historical pattern that every era has unspeakable truths
Across all recorded history, every society has had ideas that were true but dangerous to express. Galileo couldn't say the Earth moved. Darwin waited decades to publish. Turing couldn't acknowledge his sexuality. The pattern is universal: at any given moment, there exist truths that the social order punishes. The historical induction is overwhelming. Yet people in each era, including ours, believe they are the exception. This is a form of temporal myopia: assuming one's own time is uniquely enlightened.
Used as evidence that orthodox privilege must exist today, even if specific examples are debatable
Dark matter as accepted unobservable
Dark matter cannot be directly observed, yet physicists accept its existence because the gravitational effects demand it. Galaxies rotate too fast; their visible mass is insufficient. Something invisible must be there. This is a case where the scientific community accepts an unobservable based purely on indirect inference. The parallel to orthodox privilege: just as dark matter's effects are visible in galactic rotation curves, orthodox privilege's effects are visible in historical patterns of censorship and conformity. The cognitive structure is identical: infer the unobservable from its observable consequences.
Used as an analogy for convincing people of patterns they cannot directly perceive
Key Figures (1)
Albert Einstein
1 mentionsTheoretical Physicist
Quoted as authority on the difficulty of independent thought and social conformity
- Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.
Glossary (2)
equanimity
VOCABULARYMental calmness and composure, especially under stress
“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from prejudices.”
heresy
VOCABULARYBelief contrary to orthodox doctrine or accepted opinion
“People suffering from orthodox privilege will accuse you of heresy merely for saying there is.”
Key People (1)
Albert Einstein
(1879–1955)Theoretical physicist who developed relativity; known for independent thinking
Concepts (2)
Orthodox privilege
CL_PSYCHOLOGYBlindness of conventional thinkers to the existence of unspeakable truths
Dunning-Kruger effect
CL_PSYCHOLOGYCognitive bias where unskilled individuals overestimate their competence
Synthesis
Synthesis
Migrated from Scholia