Eliezer_Yudkowsky comments on Rationality Quotes: February 2010 - Less Wrong

2 Post author: wedrifid 01 February 2010 06:39AM

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Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 01 February 2010 06:08:49PM 4 points [-]

http://home.netcom.com/~rogermw2/force_skeptics.html

This page persuaded me, by the way - I am now a Force Skeptic with respect to the Star Wars universe.

Comment author: wedrifid 02 February 2010 03:16:09AM *  3 points [-]

That page sounded like banal propaganda. Yes, any magic is indistinguishable from sufficiently advanced technology but it sounds to me like the author has a strong preference to blaming evidence on an invisible robotic dragon in his garage rather than uncover the actual explanation whatever it may be.

This is a world where you can hear sound in space and of light is more of a guideline than an actual rule. Your real world preconceptions just don't apply. Once there is any evidence whatsoever that Jedi are unwilling to subject the force to any scientific scrutiny then such skepticism beings to gain credibility. As things stand, however, I would expect the Jedi to be willing participants in Force research. I would, naturally, engage in such research myself. Partly out of a desire to understand the laws of the universe but mostly because I intended to harness the force to my own ends.

Comment author: Kutta 02 February 2010 11:31:20AM 3 points [-]

That page sounded like banal propaganda.

Rather, it sounds exactly like a humorous, ironic fan-written piece, with no intention to truthfully explain in-universe things...

Comment author: wedrifid 02 February 2010 12:46:11PM 0 points [-]

... that should leave us all being highly amused Force Believers with respect to the Star Wars universe.

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 02 February 2010 07:50:59PM 3 points [-]

Sure, if you believe everything you see in the movies, but that seems like obvious Rebel propaganda to me.

Comment author: Larks 02 February 2010 08:16:13PM 1 point [-]

Even worse, some senior imperial officers at the time of Yavin IV believed it!

Comment author: gwern 01 February 2010 10:32:10PM 2 points [-]

From an EU perspective, that page is quite wrong, especially with assertions like

The Force supposedly cannot be detected by any device that has yet been built anywhere in the Galaxy. Furthermore, the only people who can detect the Force are those few "gifted" individuals who are "sensitive" to it.

(EU introduced Force-detecting devices left over from the Jedi purges.)

or

If the Jedi ability to "see" the Remote with their eyes covered and only the Force to guide them is so central to the Jedi's repertoire, then why do Jedi engaged in combat against opponents with real blasters always deflect the bolts with their eyes open?

(I think Lucas himself wrote in a blind Jedi or two.)

Comment author: mattnewport 01 February 2010 11:08:32PM 0 points [-]

EU?

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 02 February 2010 12:47:56AM 5 points [-]

Expected utility. It's more powerful than the Force.

Comment author: mattnewport 02 February 2010 12:54:15AM 0 points [-]

My initial thought was 'Eliezer Yudkowsky' until I realized that that would be EY and not EU... The way I assume your name is pronounced made that mistake possible.

Comment author: AdeleneDawner 01 February 2010 11:13:56PM 5 points [-]
Comment author: SilasBarta 02 February 2010 03:38:23AM *  7 points [-]

Yet whenever I see that, I think "European Union". And when I first saw Star Wars fans talk about the OT, my first though was, "Old Testament". Actually, that's not far off, in a sense! (It's actually "Original Trilogy".)

ETA: A "Jew" of Star Wars would, I guess, be someone who accepts the OT, but rejects everything thereafter. There seem to be many...

Comment author: LucasSloan 02 February 2010 12:50:28AM 0 points [-]

Expanded Universe. All of the books, comics, etc outside of the movies.