zslastman comments on Rationality Quotes September 2012 - Less Wrong

7 Post author: Jayson_Virissimo 03 September 2012 05:18AM

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Comment author: Jayson_Virissimo 03 September 2012 08:59:50AM 33 points [-]

...beliefs are like clothes. In a harsh environment, we choose our clothes mainly to be functional, i.e., to keep us safe and comfortable. But when the weather is mild, we choose our clothes mainly for their appearance, i.e., to show our figure, our creativity, and our allegiances. Similarly, when the stakes are high we may mainly want accurate beliefs to help us make good decisions. But when a belief has few direct personal consequences, we in effect mainly care about the image it helps to project.

-Robin Hanson, Human Enhancement

Comment author: zslastman 03 September 2012 06:32:55PM 32 points [-]

I feel like Hanson's admittedly insightful "signaling" hammer has him treating everything as a nail.

Comment author: Nominull 03 September 2012 10:53:57PM 25 points [-]

I agree in principle but I think this particular topic is fairly nailoid in nature.

Comment author: zslastman 04 September 2012 10:26:50AM 7 points [-]

I'd say it's such a broad subject that there have to be some screws in there as well. I think Hanson has too much faith in the ability of evolved systems to function in a radically changed environment. Even if signaling dominates the evolutionary origins of our brain, it's not advisable to just label everything we do now as directed towards signaling, any more than sex is always directed towards reproduction. You have to get into the nitty gritty of how our minds carry out the signaling. Conspiracy theorists don't signal effectively, though you can probably relate their behavior back to mechanisms originally directed towards, or at least compatible with, signaling.

Also, an ability to switch between clear "near" thinking and fluffy "far" thinking presupposes a rational decision maker to implement the switch. I'm not sure Hanson pays enough attention to how, when, and for what reasons we do this.

Comment author: Matt_Caulfield 03 September 2012 10:27:36PM 49 points [-]

Your contrarian stance against a high-status member of this community makes you seem formidable and savvy. Would you like to be allies with me? If yes, then the next time I go foraging I will bring you back extra fruit.

Comment author: [deleted] 03 September 2012 10:40:35PM 0 points [-]

Same here.