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DanArmak comments on On the Power of Intelligence and Rationality - Less Wrong
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If rationality was the most important component of individual level success- the Ultimate Power- then you'd expect pretty much all the most successful people to have above-average rationality. Heck, even if it wasn't, you'd still expect pretty much all the most successful people to have above-average rationality. Nobody would claim that height is the most important thing in playing basketball, but pretty much all the most successful basketball players have above average height.
How many highly rational people do you suppose there are in the world? How many of them do you suspect are risk-seeking enough to aim for the type of swing-for-the-fences success that would make them notable?
If your respective answers aren't "quite a lot" and "a significant fraction" then it seems like you're neglecting the base rate. Otherwise, I'd like to know how you arrived at those estimates.
"How many highly rational people do you suppose there are in the world? How many of them do you suspect are risk-seeking enough to aim for the type of swing-for-the-fences success that would make them notable?"
Precisely half of the human population has above average rationality. What's notable about people like the Nazis is not that they weren't x-rationalists, it's that they were well below average.