sark comments on Epistemic Luck - Less Wrong

74 Post author: Alicorn 08 February 2010 12:02AM

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Comment author: sark 08 February 2010 12:41:22PM 3 points [-]

You select them. They select you. Selection effect in both cases.

Comment author: RobinZ 09 February 2010 02:21:06AM 1 point [-]

"the one that happened to accept me" doesn't sound like a criterion that is strongly correlated with "the one whose views accord most closely with mine".

Comment author: Alicorn 09 February 2010 02:28:40AM *  2 points [-]

Well, I did do my entrance essay on an article by a philosopher who is inordinately popular at the department I just abandoned. I was talking about how he was wrong, but I did communicate that I thought he was worth reading and writing about.

Comment author: sark 09 February 2010 11:15:38AM 0 points [-]

It doesn't, but the point was about influence vs. selection effects, not different kinds of selection effects.

Comment author: RobinZ 10 February 2010 03:15:36PM 0 points [-]

It's still luck - if I choose a car based on whoever happens to drive past with a "For Sale" sign in the window, the street I'm standing on isn't a very good determinator of the quality of automobile.

Comment author: MrHen 10 February 2010 03:40:30PM 1 point [-]

It can, depending on what city you live in. I don't know if this is at all related to your point, but the street you find a car for sale can be a great indicator of its quality.

Namely, what neighborhood is the car in? Is the street notorious for certain things? A personal example: I would never buy a car I found for sale on Hwy 14. I would buy a car I found for sale on Hwy 110, but only outside of the Loop.

Comment author: RobinZ 11 February 2010 03:10:24AM 2 points [-]

Yeah, I'll give you that one. I was imagining choosing the street by, say, walking out your front door, not by the expected quality of automobile.