thomblake comments on Rationally Irrational - Less Wrong

-11 Post author: HungryTurtle 07 March 2012 07:21PM

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Comment author: faul_sname 09 March 2012 10:16:21PM 4 points [-]

One: I think Lukeprog says it pretty well here:

“Oh my God,” you think. “It’s not that I have a rational little homunculus inside that is being ‘corrupted’ by all these evolved heuristics and biases layered over it. No, the data are saying that the software program that is me just is heuristics and biases. I just am this kluge of evolved cognitive modules and algorithmic shortcuts. I’m not an agent designed to have correct beliefs and pursue explicit goals; I’m a crazy robot built as a vehicle for propagating genes without spending too much energy on expensive thinking neurons.”

Two: Good point. Social goals and nonsocial goals are only rarely at odds with one another, so this may not be a particularly fruitful line of thought. Still, it is possible that the idea of rational "irrationality" is neglected here.

Comment author: thomblake 10 April 2012 06:21:42PM 1 point [-]

Social goals and nonsocial goals are only rarely at odds with one another

This seems implausible on the face of it, as goals in general tend to conflict. Especially to the extent that resources are fungible.