brazil84 comments on Epistle to the New York Less Wrongians - Less Wrong

90 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 20 April 2011 09:13PM

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Comment author: brazil84 27 September 2011 08:46:18PM 3 points [-]

Would the same reasoning apply to noises, like jackhammering, people talking on their cell phones, etc?

Comment author: shokwave 28 September 2011 06:25:06AM 0 points [-]

Yes. Also to time-pressured situations like a question requiring an immediate answer, and emotionally charged situations.

Comment author: brazil84 28 September 2011 09:16:57AM 2 points [-]

I disagree, I think it's better to practice stuff without distractions, at least at first. So for example I wouldn't prefer to have rational club meetings at a construction site; or to have people talking on their cell phones during the meeting.

Comment author: shokwave 28 September 2011 11:15:35AM 0 points [-]

Ah. The male-only problem is pretty much a permanent decision - it's a Hard Problem to attract females to an all-male group. So if you had to decide between never any distractions or always distractions... I would pick distractions. Otherwise I feel training caps out too early.

Comment author: wedrifid 28 September 2011 10:22:47AM *  1 point [-]

I disagree, I think it's better to practice stuff without distractions, at least at first. So for example I wouldn't prefer to have rational club meetings at a construction site; or to have people talking on their cell phones during the meeting.

That's unexpected. In this comparison of sex based distractions to construction sites jackhammers turn out to be analogous to breasts. I'd usually expect something different.

Comment author: brazil84 28 September 2011 03:03:18PM *  0 points [-]

It's not so much a matter of comparison as a matter of applying shokwave's reasoning to other distractions.

He didn't make the argument that simply having girls present is only a mild distraction. Instead, his argument is that one should accept distractions because they are present in normal life.

Comment author: wedrifid 28 September 2011 03:24:11PM 0 points [-]

He didn't make the argument that simply having girls present is only a mild distraction. Instead, his argument is that one should accept distractions because they are present in normal life.

I know, I agree with your argument. (Without supporting sex segregated lesswrong meetups as being a remotely practical idea!)