Mark_Friedenbach comments on Generalizing From One Example - Less Wrong

259 Post author: Yvain 28 April 2009 10:00PM

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Comment author: [deleted] 21 October 2013 07:54:31AM 0 points [-]

How many of those elements did you include in your triangle, before being prompted by the questions?

I'm not sure you can generally answer that by introspection. At least in my case, when prompted by the question I remember having seen the specific detail. However knowing how the mind works, I also assign high probability to the explanation that my mind filled in the requested detail when prompted - rewriting my memory, loosely speaking. This is, I believe, the same phenomenon that makes eyewitness testimony so unreliable.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 21 October 2013 03:07:05PM 0 points [-]

I agree completely, but it's socially conventional to ask people questions about our past experiences as though we were a definitive source of information about it.