Status:: #🌱 Tags:: #💡 Links:: <% tp.file.cursor(4) %> ___ # Thought Experiment A thought experiment involves running through a scenario in your mind to investigate the nature of things. [[Imaging something makes it seem more likely]] because it [[The distance something is from us in psychological distance changes our construal of it]] by making us think of it more abstractly. However, by imagining it in our minds, we decrease the distance it feels from us. Thought experiments are run exactly like normal scientific experiments using [[The Scientific Method]]. One famous example of a thought experiment is John Rawl's "Veil of Ignorance" which states that in order to figure out the most fair and equitable way to structure society you have to construct it being ignorant to where you will be placed inside of the society. This doesn't just apply to society, but to determining the most fair decision-making process in a group. You have to be okay with the decision making method chosen allowing any decision to be made before undergoing it. # Great Thought Experiments You kill an innocent person but think you didn’t kill them with your memories. You can save an innocent life but you think you killed them for the rest of your life. What do you do? The Memory Integration Dilemma: "Imagine we develop the ability to selectively erase traumatic memories. You can remove specific painful experiences from your mind, but doing so would alter your life narrative and potentially change core aspects of who you've become. Would you use this technology? What would it mean for personal growth, societal crime, and our relationships if we could edit out the experiences that shaped us?" The Artificial Network Effect "Picture a social network that matches people based purely on a carefully selected data pool for what determines healthy long term relationships. Instead of connecting through shared interests or curated personas, you'd connect with others whose deeper psychological patterns complement or mirror your own. Would this lead to more authentic relationships and growth, or would it be psychologically dangerous to connect In such a data driven way?"