Desrtopa comments on Belief in Belief vs. Internalization - Less Wrong

33 Post author: Desrtopa 29 November 2010 03:12AM

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Comment author: shokwave 30 November 2010 05:32:09AM 5 points [-]

I'm quite prepared to admit that there are many cases where my actions do not make sense in light of a gut level acceptance of my beliefs.

Excellent, you are ahead of me. My initial reaction to the post was to run through a list of my prominent beliefs to see if they all made sense. They all did, and I only just barely was able to catch myself in time to think "What a coincidence, every single one?". Then the "Singularity as retirement plan" quote occurred to me.

starving children are very much an invisible dragon to me.

I support this 'x is my invisible dragon' turn of phrase!

Comment author: Desrtopa 30 November 2010 05:45:59AM 4 points [-]

I support this 'x is my invisible dragon' turn of phrase!

I thought it would be a good figure of speech too, but I'm afraid if I used it outside the context of this thread, people would think of Sagan's dragon, not mine. This parable would have to become a lot more famous for people to start to get it.

Comment author: shokwave 30 November 2010 08:11:38AM 1 point [-]

This parable would have to become a lot more famous for people to start to get it.

This is the process I am trying to kickstart by throwing my support behind the phrase.

Comment author: JamesAndrix 30 November 2010 08:46:37PM 1 point [-]

The two concepts could serve as a rhetorical crowbar:

Is this the kind of invisible dragon that isn't really there but you're in denial? ...or the kind that IS really there but you're in denial?

This in turn makes me think that there are some kinds of evidence that affect our behavior, and other kinds that affects our beliefs, and only partial overlap. (E.G. you know the dragon is there but you're not evolved to be as afraid as you should be, because you can't see, hear, or smell it.)

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 01 December 2010 05:12:15AM 2 points [-]

This in turn makes me think that there are some kinds of evidence that affect our behavior, and other kinds that affects our beliefs, and only partial overlap. (E.G. you know the dragon is there but you're not evolved to be as afraid as you should be, because you can't see, hear, or smell it.)

The standard LW terminology for this is near and far modes of thought.

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