Vladimir_M comments on Reasons for being rational - Less Wrong

57 Post author: Swimmer963 01 July 2011 03:28PM

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Comment author: Vladimir_M 30 June 2011 08:44:25PM *  8 points [-]

Is the point of your comment that you think it's possible to make progress by highlighting broad phenomena about the reliability of mainstream views so that people can work out the implications on their own without there being a need for explicit public discussion?

Basically, I believe that exploring the general questions about how mainstream views are generated in practice and what are the implications for their reliability is by far the most fruitful direction for people interested in increasing the accuracy of their beliefs across the board. Of course, if you have a particular interest in some question, you have to grapple with the concrete issues involved, and also a general exploration must be based on concrete case studies. But attacking particular mainstream views head-on may well be counterproductive in every sense, as I noted above.

A natural method to avoid becoming a crackpot is to reveal one's views for possible critique in a gradual and carefully argued fashion, adjusting them as people point out weaknesses. Of course it might not be a good idea to reveal one's views regardless (self-preservation; opportunity cost of time) but I don't think that danger of being a crackpot is a good reason.

That's assuming you have discussion partners who are knowledgeable, open-minded, and patient enough. However, such people are the most difficult to find exactly in those areas where you're faced with the Scylla of a deeply flawed mainstream and the Charybdis of even worse crackpot contrarians.

(Please also see my reply to Nick Tarleton, who asked a similar question as the rest of your comment.)

Comment author: multifoliaterose 01 July 2011 12:40:29AM 2 points [-]

Basically, I believe that exploring the general questions about how mainstream views are generated in practice and what are the implications for their reliability is by far the most fruitful direction for people interested in increasing the accuracy of their beliefs across the board. Of course, if you have a particular interest in some question, you have to grapple with the concrete issues involved, and also a general exploration must be based on concrete case studies. But attacking particular mainstream views head-on may well be counterproductive in every sense, as I noted above.

This is fair; you've made your position clear, thanks.

That's assuming you have discussion partners who are knowledgeable, open-minded, and patient enough. However, such people are the most difficult to find exactly in those areas where you're faced with the Scylla of a deeply flawed mainstream and the Charybdis of even worse crackpot contrarians.

Agree in general. How about Less Wrong in particular?

Comment author: Vladimir_M 02 July 2011 06:24:03PM *  4 points [-]

Agree in general. How about Less Wrong in particular?

Well, LW is great for discussing a concrete problem if you manage to elicit some interest in it, both because of people's high general intellectual skills and because of low propensity to emotionally driven reactions that are apt to derail the discussion, even in fairly charged topics (well, except for gender-related ones, I guess). So, yes, LW is very good for this sort of reality-checking if you manage to find people interested in your topic.