Normal_Anomaly comments on Rationality Quotes August 2011 - Less Wrong

3 Post author: dvasya 02 August 2011 08:24PM

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Comment author: Nic_Smith 02 August 2011 08:05:28PM *  16 points [-]

I think that people use a rule of thumb when deciding what things in life are worth learning. Most people seek knowledge in one of the following three categories:

  • What many other people learn (calculus, C++, and so on)
  • What is easy to learn (hula-hooping, Ruby, and so on)
  • What has value that is easy to appreciate (thermonuclear physics, for example, or that ridiculously loud whistle where you stick your fingers in your mouth) -- Land of Lisp. Conrad Barski.
Comment author: Normal_Anomaly 03 August 2011 05:09:11PM *  9 points [-]

I think another category would be "What few other people can or do learn" (rare foreign languages, chess, obscure trivia about a favorite subject). Knowing something that others don't is good for getting status, at least in the subcultures with which I have experience.