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billswift comments on Comments for "Rationality" - Less Wrong
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There are only two ways for the mind to consciously process information - language or images. There are some people who can apparently think clearly and precisely in images - Nikola Tesla and Temple Grandin spring immediately to mind. Language is the only way other than visual images to think consciously and precisely. For this purpose mathematics is a language.
You mean composers can't think consciously and precisely about sound? Chefs about taste? Perfumers (sp?) about smell? Gymnasts about the feel of their moves?
They generally don't - at least, not in ways that they can communicate to others, and if they can't do that, why would we describe their thoughts as 'conscious' and 'precise'?
I don't see how "communicate to others" and "conscious/precise" are related. If something is unconscious, it can still be communicated unconsciously (e.g. body language). If something is imprecise, that doesn't stop it from being communicated. Conversely, just because something is conscious or precise doesn't mean it can be communicated, if there are no points of reference on the receiving end. If a chef or a gymnast tried to communicate with me about such matters, they would probably fail, but that doesn't mean the failure was on their end of the conversation -- and would have nothing to do with the consciousness or precision of the thoughts involved.