steven0461 comments on Intelligence enhancement as existential risk mitigation - Less Wrong

17 [deleted] 15 June 2009 07:35PM

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Comment author: steven0461 19 June 2009 05:05:08PM *  3 points [-]

So:

  • AngryParsley is upset that I don't think that if more intelligence is bad, then less intelligence is good
  • Annoyance is upset that I do think that if more intelligence is bad, then less intelligence is good

Could you please just get upset at each other?

Comment author: Annoyance 20 June 2009 04:48:53PM 0 points [-]

No, Annoyance is upset that you presented a logical fallacy as an argument, that no one including you seems to care, and that the statement of your error is somehow seen as being antithetical to Less Wrong's purpose and mission.

Comment author: MichaelBishop 23 June 2009 12:18:11AM 0 points [-]

There was a post (I'm having trouble finding) with many examples of how "fallacies" can be reasonable forms of argument. e.g. Argument from authority is fallacious, but for many questions, it would be irrational to weight a child's opinion as heavily as an adult's.

Could someone provide the link? Annoyance, perhaps you could respond to it, because you seem very quick to point out fallacies and many in the community think it is sometimes unhelpful.

Comment author: thomblake 23 June 2009 04:53:04PM *  0 points [-]

There's an argument from authority that's a fallacy, and one that's not.

Arguments of the form, "S is an authority on X and says p, so we have reason to think that p" can be valid (possibly missing some easy steps) but might be unsound.

Arguments of the form "S is an authority on X and says p, therefore p" are just plainly invalid.

There is no contradiction here.

Comment author: MichaelBishop 23 June 2009 10:28:12PM 0 points [-]

agreed, still looking for the link.

Comment author: Annoyance 23 June 2009 04:36:29PM *  -1 points [-]

with many examples of how "fallacies" can be reasonable forms of argument.

I strongly suspect 'reasonable' is being used in the most common, and most erroneous, sense - that of "not striking the speaker as being unusual or producing cognitive dissonance".

Fallacies are, by their nature, invalid arguments. There are sometimes valid arguments related loosely to the content of certain fallacies, but they should be asserted rather than the invalid form.

many in the community think it is sometimes unhelpful.

(edit to alter content to what I now think is a better phrasing)

These individuals need to be publicly identified as irrationalists.

Comment author: thomblake 23 June 2009 04:57:26PM 3 points [-]

These individuals need to be publicly identified as irrationalists.

Hey, I publicly identify myself as an irrationalist, and I have no problem calling a spade a spade.

That said, folks could easily think "Logical fallacy!" is about as helpful as "That comment had 25 characters!"

If you think people won't notice that there's a fallacy, then you should also think that they won't know what it is, and kindly point it out.

Comment author: MichaelBishop 23 June 2009 10:27:30PM 0 points [-]

how are you defining irrationalist? we are all, of course, imperfect rationalists.

Comment author: thomblake 23 June 2009 10:33:39PM 0 points [-]

I'll have to write a blog post about that. For now, suffice it to say that I use it analogously to how a Nietzschean might use "amoralist".

Comment author: Cyan 23 June 2009 10:56:59PM 1 point [-]

Amoral is to moral/immoral as arational is to rational/irrational?

Comment author: thomblake 23 June 2009 11:36:36PM 1 point [-]

That would be a much better distinction, wouldn't it?

Comment author: Annoyance 24 June 2009 04:41:30PM -1 points [-]

That said, folks could easily think "Logical fallacy!" is about as helpful as "That comment had 25 characters!"

Well, maybe - but then what are they doing here?

Comment author: thomblake 24 June 2009 04:47:16PM 1 point [-]

I think you're missing my point - we should be in 1 of 2 situations:

  1. the intended audience already knows there's a logical fallacy, so your statement communicates nothing
  2. the intended audience does not know there's a logical fallacy, so they also didn't identify what and where the logical fallacy is and you might as well be helpful and point it out.
Comment author: Annoyance 24 June 2009 05:34:28PM -2 points [-]

Even people who know what the fallacy is won't necessarily notice it.

And people who didn't recognize the fallacy can still use logic to determine what it is - or rather, they should be able to.

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 24 June 2009 06:04:55PM *  0 points [-]

thomblake's first case refers to people actually noticing the instance of fallacy, not just being abstractly familiar with the kind. Are you twisting words on purpose, or are you actually failing to notice what was intended?