RobinHanson comments on Rationality Quotes - July 2009 - Less Wrong

5 Post author: SilasBarta 02 July 2009 06:35PM

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Comment author: RobinHanson 04 July 2009 07:35:22PM 1 point [-]

He'd be correct if he'd said we can discuss the subjects we think no one knows anything about. I wonder; did Feynman think no one knew anything about psychology?

Comment author: orthonormal 04 July 2009 10:59:42PM *  4 points [-]

Given the story of his encounter with the psychologist (also in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!), I'd say he thought so, and ditto with the other fields he mentioned. I believe he was criticizing acceptable social conversation (at the Nobel Prize banquet, I believe!) as being restricted to topics on which nobody sufficiently facile with words could be conclusively shown to be wrong.

Comment author: RolfAndreassen 05 July 2009 06:48:58PM 3 points [-]

The conversation took place in 1965; if Feynman believed that, as is likely, he was very probably correct. On the other hand, a lot of people probably thought they knew something about psychology; it was a popular subject at the time.