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Comment by paulsutter | Hacker News Reader

> Dogma and ideology are even worse. They provide us with the answers, and put boundaries around our thinking. Ignoring the dogma invites ridicule, or even punishment. I suspect that's why more ideological societies are less innovative.

Is it still permissible to say this? (asking as an earnest question) This was once a core tenet of silicon valley but somehow the opposite has happened and I’m not sure you can even say this anymore

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Paul doesn’t seem to have gotten in any trouble for saying it. What makes you think that someone else would? The problem only comes up when you start trying to label other people’s beliefs as dogma.

This is about examining your own beliefs to root out dogma, and avoiding pushing your dogmas into others. Not about being a self-perceived victim of some other group oppressing you.

To explain: Assuming causality is a cognitive bias. Assuming causality in other people’s outcomes can be .. another kind of bias. Dogma comes in when only certain assumptions are permissible.

I don’t mean to drag the discussion through all this, I was just asking a question (above) and answering yours (here)

You don't get in trouble for denouncing dogma in general. You have to denounce a specific one.

Permissible is relative to the person :) You can say plenty of "impermissible" things if your skin isn't thin, and you don't have an employer who will fire you because of it.

> Escaping dogma is hard. From the inside, it simply looks like truth and reality. Watch out for any belief that limits the range of your thinking and exploration.

It's not just SV (obviously).

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