The Nonlinear Library LW - Loudly Give Up, Don't Quietly Fade by Screwtape
Nov 14, 2023
08:07
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Loudly Give Up, Don't Quietly Fade, published by Screwtape on November 14, 2023 on LessWrong.
I.
There's a supercharged, dire wolf form of the bystander effect that I'd like to shine a spotlight on.
First, a quick recap. The Bystander Effect is a phenomenon where people are less likely to help when there's a group around. When I took basic medical training, I was told to always ask one specific person to take actions instead of asking a crowd at large. "You, in the green shirt! Call 911!" (911 is the emergency services number in the United States.) One habit I worked hard to instill in my own head was that if I'm in a crowd that's asked to do something, I silently count off three seconds. If nobody else responds, I either decide to do it or decide not to do it and I say that.
I like this habit, because the Bystander Effect is dumb and I want to fight it. Several times now it's pushed me to step forward in circumstances where I otherwise wouldn't have, thinking maybe someone else would. If everyone else had this habit, the Bystander Effect wouldn't be a thing.
II.
There's a more pernicious, insidious version that I haven't managed to build a habit against.
Imagine a medical emergency. Someone is hurt, and someone steps forward to start applying first aid. They call out "Someone call 911!" There's a moment's pause as the crowd looks at each other, wondering if someone will. Then someone in a green shirt steps forward and says "I'll do it!" and pulls out their phone. Huzzah! The Bystander Effect is defeated!
Then twenty minutes later the first aid person asks "Hey, did 911 say how long they were going to take?" and the guy in the green shirt says "What? Oh, right, yeah, I didn't have any cell service so I've been reading an ebook on my phone."
This Dire Bystander Effect would defeat my habit. If someone else said that they were calling 911, I wouldn't also step forward to call 911. I'd go and do something else, maybe making the victim more comfortable or holding things for the person applying first aid or possibly even go along with my day if it looked like the circumstances were well in hand.
This story is an exaggeration for dramatic effect. I don't think anyone would quietly wait around after saying they would call emergency services, not having done so. It might be worse though! If the person in the green shirt failed to get cell service, they might walk away from the scene looking for more signal without telling anyone.
That last part isn't an exaggeration by the way. It is a thing people sometimes think. If you are ever in an emergency and are unsure if someone has already called emergency services, call them twice, it's fine, it's better to be sure.
III.
Less dramatic versions of this are sneakier. If you've undertaken to do something that isn't an emergency, that's going to take a month or two anyway, and it isn't super important, it's just something someone wanted done. . .
Well. It's easy for that task to constantly wind up on the bottom of your to-do list, to not quite get finished, to get less and less attention over time. It must not be that important anyway, it's not that big of a problem. Or maybe it is important and you're going to get to it tomorrow. . . next week. . . soon. People have probably forgotten about it anyway.
That isn't even always wrong! Maybe the new things on your plate are more important or circumstances have changed! But uh, it's also possible that the metaphorical victim is still there, wondering when the ambulance is going to get there, and someone else would step up if they knew you weren't actively working on it.
The habit I have been trying to instill in myself is this; when I have publicly stepped forward to take up a task, I set dates for myself when new things will get done, and if task has slipped low enough in my priorities t...
I.
There's a supercharged, dire wolf form of the bystander effect that I'd like to shine a spotlight on.
First, a quick recap. The Bystander Effect is a phenomenon where people are less likely to help when there's a group around. When I took basic medical training, I was told to always ask one specific person to take actions instead of asking a crowd at large. "You, in the green shirt! Call 911!" (911 is the emergency services number in the United States.) One habit I worked hard to instill in my own head was that if I'm in a crowd that's asked to do something, I silently count off three seconds. If nobody else responds, I either decide to do it or decide not to do it and I say that.
I like this habit, because the Bystander Effect is dumb and I want to fight it. Several times now it's pushed me to step forward in circumstances where I otherwise wouldn't have, thinking maybe someone else would. If everyone else had this habit, the Bystander Effect wouldn't be a thing.
II.
There's a more pernicious, insidious version that I haven't managed to build a habit against.
Imagine a medical emergency. Someone is hurt, and someone steps forward to start applying first aid. They call out "Someone call 911!" There's a moment's pause as the crowd looks at each other, wondering if someone will. Then someone in a green shirt steps forward and says "I'll do it!" and pulls out their phone. Huzzah! The Bystander Effect is defeated!
Then twenty minutes later the first aid person asks "Hey, did 911 say how long they were going to take?" and the guy in the green shirt says "What? Oh, right, yeah, I didn't have any cell service so I've been reading an ebook on my phone."
This Dire Bystander Effect would defeat my habit. If someone else said that they were calling 911, I wouldn't also step forward to call 911. I'd go and do something else, maybe making the victim more comfortable or holding things for the person applying first aid or possibly even go along with my day if it looked like the circumstances were well in hand.
This story is an exaggeration for dramatic effect. I don't think anyone would quietly wait around after saying they would call emergency services, not having done so. It might be worse though! If the person in the green shirt failed to get cell service, they might walk away from the scene looking for more signal without telling anyone.
That last part isn't an exaggeration by the way. It is a thing people sometimes think. If you are ever in an emergency and are unsure if someone has already called emergency services, call them twice, it's fine, it's better to be sure.
III.
Less dramatic versions of this are sneakier. If you've undertaken to do something that isn't an emergency, that's going to take a month or two anyway, and it isn't super important, it's just something someone wanted done. . .
Well. It's easy for that task to constantly wind up on the bottom of your to-do list, to not quite get finished, to get less and less attention over time. It must not be that important anyway, it's not that big of a problem. Or maybe it is important and you're going to get to it tomorrow. . . next week. . . soon. People have probably forgotten about it anyway.
That isn't even always wrong! Maybe the new things on your plate are more important or circumstances have changed! But uh, it's also possible that the metaphorical victim is still there, wondering when the ambulance is going to get there, and someone else would step up if they knew you weren't actively working on it.
The habit I have been trying to instill in myself is this; when I have publicly stepped forward to take up a task, I set dates for myself when new things will get done, and if task has slipped low enough in my priorities t...