sketerpot comments on Rationality Quotes August 2011 - Less Wrong

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

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Comment author: shminux 02 August 2011 09:04:48PM 7 points [-]

Not sure if this excerpt has been posted here before, th guy's blog is a treasure trove.

The thing that fascinates me is that irrationality is something you're generally not equipped to recognize in yourself while it's happening. In a perfect world, we'd have an objective way to measure irrationality, the same way a breathalyzer measures drunkenness.

-- Scott Adams Brain-Hat

He goes on to say:

I hope I'm dead before technology reaches a point where we can know for sure that people aren't rational about anything that matters.

Hope he does not read this site, then, to avoid disappointment.

Comment author: sketerpot 14 August 2011 08:01:01PM 6 points [-]

The thing that fascinates me is that irrationality is something you're generally not equipped to recognize in yourself while it's happening.

One of the really nice things about studying human rationality is that, with practice, you can learn to recognize when you're being irrational a lot more often than you otherwise would. Irrationality isn't something that just happens to us, and we're not powerless.