Swimmy comments on Raising the Sanity Waterline - Less Wrong

112 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 12 March 2009 04:28AM

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Comment author: AnnaSalamon 12 March 2009 09:00:08AM 13 points [-]

If you want them to have it as the ground state of their mind in everyday life, you probably need to have taught them songs about it in kindergarten.

I don't know; I agree with you about the likely effects of the four-credit class, but OB has had substantial effects on me and various other people I know, despite not reaching us in kindergarten. Why does OB work as well as it does?

Comment author: JulianMorrison 12 March 2009 10:05:37AM 16 points [-]

Unrepresentative sample. Nobody would start reading OB unless they were already at least a rationalist-wannabe.

Comment author: Swimmy 12 March 2009 05:47:04PM 4 points [-]

I started reading OB because I liked Robin Hanson as an economist. I continued reading because I liked Yudkowsky as a writer. I agree I'm still part of an unrepresentative sample (people who are willing to read and consider Yudkowsky's long ramblings), but not everyone found the site because of an interest in rationality per se.

Unfortunately, anyone taking a college course probably would be interested in rationality qua rationality. But the lessons are still valuable for those poor souls who, like I once was, are still religious despite it. The same for those who are religious fence-sitters.

Comment author: JulianMorrison 12 March 2009 08:00:06PM 1 point [-]

You were de-converted? Interesting. What clinched it?

Comment author: Swimmy 12 March 2009 11:07:59PM *  4 points [-]

I left a comment about it here: http://lesswrong.com/lw/2/tell_your_rationalist_origin_story/45#comments

Long story short, OB helped a lot.