Thanks for the writeup.

A question I try to answer is: What is the right balance of topic knowledge to confidence in an opinion? A good example for me is minimum wage. I want everyone to be paid a reasonable wage, but the economic system has complex interactions. I do have a basic understanding of the economy and business owner incentives. What if businesses close or people are laid off because of an increase? I don’t know if that would happen. I’m not an expert in the domain and haven’t researched it for the days or weeks that it would take. Then when someone asks me about my opinion on minimum wage and I say “I don’t know,” I feel like an apathetic asshole.

The world is so damn complex and the truth is so hard to find, usually with people actively trying to mask it. Popular opinion on whether eggs are good for you has gone back and forth for 50 years. You will find convincing studies on both sides, then people purporting to debunk the other side by pointing out issues with said studies. This makes people want to throw up their hands and say, “I’ll eat whatever because no one knows!” In reality I think the truth on this particular topic is clear, but special interests have sewn enough doubt and confusion for the above reaction.