Z_M_Davis comments on Open Thread: May 2009 - Less Wrong

4 Post author: steven0461 01 May 2009 04:16PM

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Comment author: Z_M_Davis 03 May 2009 01:03:53AM *  4 points [-]

So much of this emerging art seems to about how to get ourselves to actually update our beliefs and actions to evidence, rather than just going around in circles just doing what we're used to doing. In the quantum physics sequence, Eliezer told a story about aliens called the Ebborians, who "think faster than humans {and} are less susceptible to habit; they recompute what we would cache." Following the discussion of individual differences on the path towards rationality, I wonder: would an Ebborian art of rationality be about how to update less, how to maintain true beliefs and effective actions, rather than thrashing about wildly, doing whatever seems like a good idea at the moment? Or is this idle speculation too ill-formed to be worth discussing?