Eliezer_Yudkowsky comments on Thoughts on the Singularity Institute (SI) - Less Wrong

256 Post author: HoldenKarnofsky 11 May 2012 04:31AM

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Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 15 July 2012 11:38:21PM 7 points [-]

...this was actually a terrible policy in historical practice.

Comment author: Vaniver 16 July 2012 12:16:19AM 2 points [-]

That only seems relevant if the war in question is optional.

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 16 July 2012 02:09:44AM 5 points [-]

Rumsfeld is speaking of the Iraq war. It was an optional war, the army turned out to be far understrength for establishing order, and they deliberately threw out the careful plans for preserving e.g. Iraqi museums from looting that had been drawn up by the State Department, due to interdepartmental rivalry.

This doesn't prove the advice is bad, but at the very least, Rumsfeld was just spouting off Deep Wisdom that he did not benefit from spouting; one would wish to see it spoken by someone who actually benefited from the advice, rather than someone who wilfully and wantonly underprepared for an actual war.

Comment author: Vaniver 16 July 2012 02:27:10AM 8 points [-]

just spouting off Deep Wisdom that he did not benefit from spouting

Indeed. The proper response, which is surely worth contemplation, would have been:

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

Sun Tzu