BillyOblivion comments on Rationality Quotes: March 2011 - Less Wrong

6 Post author: Alexandros 02 March 2011 11:14AM

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Comment author: BillyOblivion 05 March 2011 11:59:29AM 11 points [-]

If it's stupid, but it works, it ain't stupid.

Comment author: benelliott 05 March 2011 12:08:00PM 5 points [-]

Or alternatively, there's something intelligent that works much better.

Comment author: CuSithBell 15 March 2011 05:35:22PM *  3 points [-]

While there are predictable (and accurate) objections to this quote as such, at heart it's good sense. On the one hand, it can mean the same thing as "the rational thing is the thing that wins", and on the other it can mean something like "if you predict that it has a low probability of working, but it works, then that is evidence that should raise your estimate of its likelihood of working," both of which are, I'd imagine, lesswrong-approved sentiments.

Comment author: TobyBartels 05 March 2011 09:24:30PM 1 point [-]

Do we have a source for that? (It's all over the Internet, with varied phrasing.)

Comment author: BillyOblivion 08 March 2011 08:11:28AM 1 point [-]

I looked and couldn't find a definitive source, and really only posted it as sort of a neuron-jerk response.

I first heard it from some old Cajun sounding general talking about something to do with (IIRC) the Katrina response.

No, that was a different stupidity quote. "Don't get stuck on stupid".

Comment author: austhinker 14 March 2011 01:32:58PM *  0 points [-]

Who are you quoting?

I seem to recall having read/heard this before.

Mind you, it depends on the reliability of it working. If something has a (real) 90% chance of making the problem twice as bad, but just happens to fix it, then it's still stupid.