Q: What has Rationality Done for You?

atucker

18 Q: What has Rationality Done for You?

2nd Apr 2011

1 min read

18

So after reading SarahC's latest post I noticed that she's gotten a lot out of rationality.

More importantly, she got different things out of it than I have.

Off the top of my head, I've learned...

that other people see themselves differently, and should be understood on their terms (mostly from here)
that I can pay attention to what I'm doing, and try to notice patterns to make intervention more effective.
the whole utilitarian structure of having a goal that you take actions to achieve, coupled with the idea of an optimization process. It was really helpful to me to realize that you can do whatever it takes to achieve something, not just what has been suggested.
the importance/usefulness of dissolving the question/how words work (especially great when combined with previous part)
that an event is evidence for something, not just what I think it can support
to pull people in, don't force them. Seriously that one is ridiculously useful. Thanks David Gerard.
that things don't happen unless something makes them happen.
that other people are smart and cool, and often have good advice

On top of becoming a little bit more effective at a lot of things, and with many fewer problems.

(I could post more on the consequences of this, but I'm going for a different point)

Where she got...

a habit of learning new skills
better time-management habits
an awesome community
more initiative
the idea that she can change the world

I've only recently making a habit out of trying new things, and that's been going really well for me. Is there other low hanging fruit that I'm missing?

What cool/important/useful things has rationality gotten you?

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18 Q: What has Rationality Done for You?

by atucker

2nd Apr 2011

1 min read

18

So after reading SarahC's latest post I noticed that she's gotten a lot out of rationality.

More importantly, she got different things out of it than I have.

Off the top of my head, I've learned...

that other people see themselves differently, and should be understood on their terms (mostly from here)
that I can pay attention to what I'm doing, and try to notice patterns to make intervention more effective.
the whole utilitarian structure of having a goal that you take actions to achieve, coupled with the idea of an optimization process. It was really helpful to me to realize that you can do whatever it takes to achieve something, not just what has been suggested.
the importance/usefulness of dissolving the question/how words work (especially great when combined with previous part)
that an event is evidence for something, not just what I think it can support
to pull people in, don't force them. Seriously that one is ridiculously useful. Thanks David Gerard.
that things don't happen unless something makes them happen.
that other people are smart and cool, and often have good advice

On top of becoming a little bit more effective at a lot of things, and with many fewer problems.

(I could post more on the consequences of this, but I'm going for a different point)

Where she got...

a habit of learning new skills
better time-management habits
an awesome community
more initiative
the idea that she can change the world

Personal Blog

18

Mentioned in

410Reliable Sources: The Story of David Gerard

39How rationality can make your life more awesome

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Dorikka15y10

When I first encountered Less Wrong I tended to avoid the ethics posts, considering them lower quality. I only recently realised this was because I had been reading them as "epistemic rationality" and as a non-moral-realist they therefore didn't seem meaningful.

If you mean by "non-moral-realist" "someone who doesn't think objective morality exists," I think that you've expressed my current reason for why I haven't read the meta-ethics sequence. Could you elaborate a bit more on why you changed your mind?

Giles15y20

Another point I should elaborate on.

"Would you sacrifice yourself to save the lives of 10 others?" you ask person J. "I guess so", J replies. "I might find it difficult bringing myself to actually do it, but I know it's the right thing to do".

"But you give a lot of money to charity" you tell this highly moral, saintly individual. "And you make sure to give only to charities that really work. If you stay alive, the extra money you will earn can be used to save the lives of more than 10 people. You are not just s... (read more)

0Giles15y

First off, I'm using "epistemic and instrumental rationality" as defined here: http://lesswrong.com/lw/31/what_do_we_mean_by_rationality/ If you don't believe objective morality exists then epistemic rationality can't be applied directly to morality. "This is the right thing to do" is not a question about the "territory" so you can't determine its truth or falsehood. But I choose some actions over others and describe that choice as a moral one. The place where I changed my mind is that it's no longer enough for me to be "more moral than the average person". I want to do the best that I can, within certain constraints. This fits into the framework of epistemic rationality. I am essentially free to choose which outcomes I consider preferable to which. But I have to follow certain rules. Something can't be preferable to itself. I shouldn't switch your preference and back just by phrasing the question differently. And so on.

0Normal_Anomaly15y

All the terms in this area have nearly as many definitions as they have users, but I think you'll find the meta-ethics posts to be non-morally-realist. Oft-repeated quote from those posts: [...]

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