I agree that the expression isn't used the way it might if we designed it ourselves, but idioms mean what people use them to mean, not what we think they should mean. Nick's tweets imply that Harden is at fault because she's used the common meaning that he didn't know about.
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Replying to @s8mb @Outsideness and
I’m not sure that’s what it does imply. You’re right that this is how the term is used, but there’s also a value in criticising the use of the term, because uncritical use of it might lead to the lottery metaphor being taken literally over time
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Replying to @RyanKhurana @s8mb and
What are you talking about?! Uncritical use? Sam's using the term correctly. No one except Steve Sailer and Nick Land have ever used the phrase genetic lottery to imply that genetic traits are random and not inherited.
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Replying to @Sam_Dumitriu @s8mb and
I’m not saying he’s not using the term as it’s commonly used, but why is that a reason to not criticise the metaphor?
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Replying to @RyanKhurana @s8mb and
Because the metaphor makes perfect sense. You are lucky to have been born with good genetic traits. Just as lottery winners are lucky. This is simple stuff.
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Replying to @Sam_Dumitriu @s8mb and
I think a problem with this debate is that you and
@s8mb are referring to the term linguistically, that it’s coherence is judged by its use, whereas@Outsideness and I would like to step back to the level at which it makes claims about personhood.2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes -
Replying to @RyanKhurana @s8mb and
It's a saying. When someone says "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" they're not commenting on the intrinsic value of birds.
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Replying to @Sam_Dumitriu @s8mb and
Terms bear a causal-historical relation to the world. A bird in the hand has a historical chain related to quantity and possession which is fully coherent. The chain that produced genetic lottery refers to a concept of personhood removed from process and is therefore incoherent
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Replying to @Sam_Dumitriu @s8mb and
C’mon bro, you studied Philosophy, you should be familiar with this
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They have a "sound common sense" (aka complacent eschatological leftism) thing going on, so concession here is improbable.
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