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ciphergoth comments on The Trouble With "Good" - Less Wrong
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Exactly that. We may be able to recall our reasoning if we try to, but we're likely to throw in a few extra false justifications on top, and to forget about the other side.
OK, 'compression' is the wrong analogy as it implies that we don't lose any information. I'm not sure this is always a bad thing. I might have use of a particular theorem. Being the careful sort, I work through the proof. Satisfied, I add the theorem to my grab bag of tricks (yay product rule!). In a couple of weeks (hours even...) I have forgotten the details of the proof, but I have enough confidence in my own upvote of the theorem to keep using it. The details are no longer relevant unless some other evidence comes along that brings the theorem, and thus the 'proof' into question.
This drives me crazy when it happens to me.
Those kinds of flags are the only way I can remember what I like. My memory is poor enough that I lose most details about books and movies within a few months, but if I really liked something, that 5-Yay rating sticks around for years.
Hmm, I guess that's why part of my brain still thinks Moulin Rouge, which I saw on a very enjoyable date, and never really had the urge to actually watch again, is one of my favorite movies.
Compression seems a fine analogy to me, as long as we're talking about mp3's and flv's, rather than zip's and tar's.