Ep. 21: Hippopotamus Laws : What they are and where we see them. And more importantly, what can we do about them.

Hippopotamus laws, more commonly referred to as Eponymous Laws, are principles or rules named after a particular person. In this episode, Brian and Kasey discuss a variety of Eponymous Laws, the ethics of data collection, and wrestle through the distinctions between facts and truth.

Amara's Law:

"We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run."

Shobita Parthasarathy: "Our research shows that large language models such as ChatGPT are likely to reinforce inequality, reinforce social fragmentation, remake labor and expertise, accelerate the thirst for data and accelerate environmental injustice, due to the homogeneity of the development landscape, nature of the datasets, and lack of transparency in the algorithms that power them," she said. "This makes national and international policy action even more crucial." Down a Rabbit Hole, A Conversation with Seth Godin and Simon Sinek

Chesterton's Fence:

"The principle that reforms should not be made until the reasoning behind the existing state of affairs is understood. The quotation is from Chesterton's 1929 book, The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic, in the chapter, "The Drift from Domesticity":

In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, 'I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away.' To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: 'If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.

Goodharts Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."

Campbell's Law: The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor

Goodhart’s Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis Michael F. Stumborg, Timothy D. Blasius, Steven J. Full, Christine A. Hughes Miller's Law:

"To understand what another person is saying, you must assume that it is true and try to imagine what it could be true of."

Kasey Schurtz . . . because he forgot it last week:

"How much you can grasp something impacts your ethics."

Celine's Second Law: "Accurate communication is possible only in a non-punishing situation." Roads Go Ever On
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then, I cannot say.

Let us know your thoughts by emailing us at Schurtzandties@gmail.com

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Thank you to Matt Hard for the outro-music! (It was generated from our Chat GPT Episode).