Alicorn comments on Theism, Wednesday, and Not Being Adopted - Less Wrong

56 Post author: Alicorn 27 April 2009 04:49PM

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Tags: winning theism tolerance kids

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Comment author: Alicorn 01 May 2009 04:09:07PM *  6 points [-]

Roko, do you think someone who is raised a theist but has all of your other necessary and (otherwise) jointly sufficient conditions for smartness, and then deconverts, becomes smart in that moment?

Comment deleted 01 May 2009 05:05:49PM *  [-]
Comment author: Cyan 01 May 2009 05:42:06PM *  6 points [-]

Now that Roko's actually explained Roko::smart, we don't need to keep arguing about what counts as "smart" vs. Roko::smart. It's enough to note that when Roko uses the term, the above nonstandard definition is what is meant. Let's not argue over semantics if we don't have to.

Comment deleted 01 May 2009 05:47:25PM *  [-]
Comment author: Cyan 01 May 2009 05:48:49PM 0 points [-]

I'd say that's an eminently rational policy.

Comment author: Alicorn 01 May 2009 05:16:54PM 3 points [-]

It would seem to follow from this that you don't think the following people can be "smart":

  • children
  • people who have not been educated on the subjects you mention
  • people who are good at partitioning, possibly because of a considered belief in fideism
  • people who have conflicting desires and have not worked out which they prefer to endorse on a second-order level
  • people who self-deceive on some level, or avoid thinking about the subject of religion very hard, in order to achieve a good quality of life, after having established that they consider the quality of life their top priority

Am I reading you incorrectly?

Comment deleted 01 May 2009 05:25:25PM *  [-]
Comment author: Alicorn 01 May 2009 05:30:01PM 3 points [-]

When I am inclined to call someone childish, it's because I want to express an opinion about their maturity, not their intelligence. Smart people can be immature and mature people can be pretty dim.

Some people really seem to be able to self-deceive without obviously weakening the belief they're deceiving themselves about. It's not a skill I have, but I shouldn't assume that no one has it. I don't think it's obvious at all that these people are necessarily dumb.

Comment author: byrnema 02 May 2009 11:39:19AM *  1 point [-]

Well, the religious claim is incompatible with our observations - wildly so.

Roko, could you give more detail in your reasoning here? Is any religious claim incompatible with observations, or are you thinking of a specific one?

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