Confringus comments on Rationality Quotes: April 2011 - Less Wrong

6 Post author: benelliott 04 April 2011 09:55AM

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Comment author: Confringus 04 April 2011 08:39:08PM *  13 points [-]

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"

Douglas Adams

This quote defines my approach to science and philosophy; a phenomenon can be wondrous on its own merit, it need not be magical or extraordinary to have value.

Comment author: Raemon 05 April 2011 03:02:51AM 2 points [-]

Is this from a particular book, or something he said randomly?

Comment author: ata 05 April 2011 05:33:01AM 3 points [-]

It's from the first Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book.

Comment author: Raemon 05 April 2011 05:47:49AM 2 points [-]

Really? What's the context?

Comment author: HonoreDB 05 April 2011 08:08:04AM 8 points [-]

Zaphod thinks they're on a mythic quest to find the lost planet Magrathea. They've found a lost planet alright, orbiting twin stars, but Ford still doesn't believe.

As Ford gazed at the spectacle of light before them excitement burnt inside him, but only the excitement of seeing a strange new planet; it was enough for him to see it as it was. It faintly irritated him that Zaphod had to impose some ludicrous fantasy onto the scene to make it work for him. All this Magrathea nonsense seemed juvenile. Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?

Comment author: MBlume 05 April 2011 05:23:10PM 5 points [-]

Of course, in context, they are in fact orbiting the lost planet of Magrathea.

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 08 April 2011 06:28:22AM 4 points [-]

Well, in true fact, there is no lost planet of Magrathea.

Comment author: MBlume 09 April 2011 05:42:31AM *  0 points [-]

I'm tempted to fuss about large worlds, but I think I shall refrain.

...Apophenia quite rightly points out that I am failing to refrain. Oops.

Comment author: LucasSloan 12 April 2011 01:31:13AM 0 points [-]

Well, this line of discussion has probably increased the odds of the existence of the "lost planet of Magrathea" in the local casual structure by a lot.

Comment author: James_K 07 April 2011 05:56:43AM 0 points [-]

Still, Ford's position was entirely reasonable ex ante.

Comment author: benelliott 08 April 2011 07:49:27AM 5 points [-]

How foolish of him to think something like reasonableness would matter in the Hitch-hiker's Guide universe.

Comment author: James_K 08 April 2011 08:08:29PM 3 points [-]

Yes, the trouble with rationality is that it may not work very well if you're a fictional character.

Comment author: ata 09 April 2011 03:50:31AM 3 points [-]

Only if you're a character in a fictional world that doesn't itself contain fiction in the same genre that you're in. If it does, you may be able to work out the rules.

Comment author: MBlume 08 April 2011 04:35:31AM 1 point [-]

Oh, certainly.

Comment author: Raemon 05 April 2011 11:13:08AM 1 point [-]

Thanks.

Comment author: Confringus 05 April 2011 03:24:56AM 2 points [-]

I imagine it is from one of his books but I came across it in the introduction to The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Oddly enough the Hitchhiker series is absolutely full of satirical quotes which can be applied to rationality.

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