Baughn comments on Open Thread: April 2010 - Less Wrong

4 Post author: Unnamed 01 April 2010 03:21PM

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Comment author: Baughn 02 April 2010 09:11:33PM 2 points [-]

It was strongly implied that some element of Harry's mind had skewed that prior dramatically. Perhaps his horcrux, perhaps infant memories, but either way it wasn't as you'd expect. Even for an eleven-year-old.

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 02 April 2010 09:38:46PM *  0 points [-]

He didn't bite the bullet, didn't truly disbelieve his corrupted hardware. This is a problem that has to be solved by introspection, better theory of decision-making. It's not enough to patch it by observation in each particular case, letting the reality compute a correct conclusion above your defunct epistemology, even when you have all the data you might possibly need to infer the conclusion yourself.

Comment author: Mass_Driver 09 April 2010 04:05:42PM 1 point [-]

Why not? I mean, granted, there might be occasions when you need the ability to disbelieve your hardware, but I'm having trouble thinking of any. It's unlikely enough that you'll go crazy; it's still more unlikely that you'll go crazy in such a way that your future depends on immediately and decisively noticing that you're mad. if you enjoy running tests and have the resources for it, why not indulge?

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 09 April 2010 04:23:13PM *  1 point [-]

It's unlikely enough that you'll go crazy; it's still more unlikely that you'll go crazy in such a way that your future depends on immediately and decisively noticing that you're mad.

I'm talking about not interpreting intuitive "feel" for a belief as literally representing consciously endorsed level of belief. It's perfectly normal for your emotion to be at odds with your beliefs (see scope insensitivity for example). This kind of madness doesn't imply being less functional than average. We are all mad here. If you feel that "magic might be real", but at the same time believe that "magic can't be real, no chance", you shouldn't take the side of the feeling. The feeling might constitute new evidence for your beliefs to take into account, but the final judgment has to involve conscious interpretation, you shouldn't act on emotion directly. And sometimes, this means acting against emotion (intuitive expectation). In this case in particular, intuition is weak evidence, so it doesn't overpower a belief that magic isn't real, even if it's strong intuition.

Comment author: bogdanb 09 April 2010 03:32:36PM 0 points [-]

Do you realize how many catgirls were killed because of you today?