Eliezer_Yudkowsky comments on The scourge of perverse-mindedness - Less Wrong

95 Post author: simplicio 21 March 2010 07:08AM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (249)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 22 March 2010 07:48:52AM 7 points [-]

I'd still deny this. You need the right (wrong) fallacies to jump to those conclusions. Maybe the fallacies are easy to invent, or maybe our civilization ubiquitously primes people with them, but it still takes an extra and mistaken step.

Comment author: byrnema 22 March 2010 12:01:09PM 7 points [-]

I would call it a conundrum, rather than a fallacy. If my terminal values are impossible to satisfy in a materialistic world,then I'm just out of luck, not factually wrong.

Comment author: BenAlbahari 22 March 2010 08:45:51AM *  1 point [-]

What if the priming is developmental? I wonder if there's any parents out there who have tried to bring up their kids with rational beliefs. E.g. No lies about "bunny heaven"; instead take the kid on a field-trip to a slaughterhouse. And if so, how did it effect how well adjusted the kids were?

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 22 March 2010 10:46:51AM 5 points [-]

Insulating children from death is a relatively modern behavior.

For a long time, most people grew up around killing animals for food, and there was still religion.

Comment author: Strange7 22 March 2010 09:02:27AM 2 points [-]

For this to really work, I think it would require more cultural support than just one set of parents. Maybe something like the school system and interactive history museum Sachisuke wrote about?

Comment author: Strange7 08 July 2011 04:00:02AM 0 points [-]

Of the people who voted this up, I am curious: How much of Sachisuke Masamura's work have you read? PM me.

Comment author: alexflint 22 March 2010 08:25:38AM 1 point [-]

I agree. I think it is the particularities of human psychology leads people to such conclusions. The gloomy conclusions are in no way inherent in the premises.

Comment author: Nick_Tarleton 22 March 2010 03:10:33PM 3 points [-]

I think Eliezer is claiming that human psychology does not lead to those conclusions; culturally transmitted errors are required.