RobinZ comments on Eliezer Yudkowsky Facts - Less Wrong

124 Post author: steven0461 22 March 2009 08:17PM

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Comment author: Normal_Anomaly 21 December 2010 08:37:26PM 1 point [-]

Yes. Upvotes come from original, insightful contributions. Descartes', Spinoza's, and Liebnitz's ideas are hundreds of years old and dated.

Comment author: RobinZ 22 December 2010 01:31:51AM 5 points [-]

Not exactly the point - I think the claim is that they would be downvoted even if they were providing modern, original content ... which I would question, even then. We've had quite successful theist posters before, for example.

Comment author: Jack 22 December 2010 01:41:19AM 7 points [-]

I think the claim is that they would be downvoted even if they were providing modern, original content

What would this even mean? Like, if they were transported forward in time and formed new beliefs on the basis of modern science? If they were cloned from DNA surviving in their bone marrow and then adopted by modern, secular families, took AP Calculus and learned to program?

What a goofy thing to even be talking about.

Comment author: RobinZ 22 December 2010 01:45:16AM 1 point [-]

Goofier than a universe in which humans work but matches don't? Such ideas may be ill-formed, but that doesn't make them obviously ill-formed.

Comment author: Jack 22 December 2010 01:51:09AM *  0 points [-]

Sure...

ETA: I'm making fun of that wiki, not you.

Comment author: wedrifid 22 December 2010 02:12:11AM 5 points [-]

Not exactly the point - I think the claim is that they would be downvoted even if they were providing modern, original content ... which I would question, even then.

I would downvote Descartes based on the quality of his thinking and argument even if it was modern bad thinking. At least I would if he persisted with the line after the first time or two he was corrected. I suppose this is roughly equivalent to what you are saying.