PlaidX comments on What makes Less Wrong awesome? - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (27)
Many scientists are willing to change their minds. Even normal people change their minds often. People become atheists or start voting for a different party. How many members here can you actually name who changed their mind about something dramatic?
Someone who is rather cynical about Less Wrong could go a step further and conclude that Less Wrong appears to be about changing your mind, but that it mainly attracts people who already tend to agree with ideas put forth on Less Wrong, who take ideas seriously. Everyone else turns his back on it or gets filtered out quickly. And those that already agree are not going to change their mind again, because they are not entitled to the particular proof necessary to change their mind, as most of the controversial ideas are either framed as a prediction or logical implication that is not subject to empirical criticism. What is left over is too vague or unsubstantial to change your mind about it one way or the other.
Someone even more cynical might say that lesswrong only departs from mainstream skeptical scientific consensus in ways that coincidentally line up exactly with the views of eliezer yudkowsky, and that it's basically an echo chamber.
That said, rational thinking is a great ideal, and I think it's awesome that lesswrong even TRIES to live up to it.