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Yvain comments on Never Leave Your Room - Less Wrong
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Whenever a decision seems very close, I flip a coin to decide, and then I check to see if I wish the coin had gone the other way. If so then I go against the coin.
I might sometimes be 'agreeing' with the coin because I'm primed by its outcome, but overall I find it useful for saving time. I rarely regret decisions made this way.
"Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No -- not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping."
That's from Piet Hein, a poet (and mathematician) I recommend. But I'm afraid I don't see the link to priming.
That's awesome, thank you!
Priming: In trying to explain myself, I think I've found I'm wrong: If the coin comes up heads and tells me to go through the blue door. I'll say to myself 'ok I'm going through the blue door.' in order to gauge my own reaction to that. I think sometimes I'll be biased to overlook problems with the blue door merely because that's the way I'm already mentally heading. On writing this out I see how it's different than priming.