RolfAndreassen comments on Rationality, Transhumanism, and Mental Health - Less Wrong

8 Post author: ialdabaoth 14 October 2012 09:11AM

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Comment author: RolfAndreassen 16 October 2012 05:21:25PM -2 points [-]

Ok; now do the same calculation for the world outside academia, making similar assumptions - no going up to every random person on the street and asking what their IQ is, if you please. You can't do any better than maximising your odds; showing that the odds are still bad is unpersuasive, you have to show that they are the same as, or worse than, the alternative course of action.

Comment author: Epiphany 16 October 2012 07:31:55PM *  1 point [-]

you have to show that they are the same as, or worse than, the alternative course of action.

No I don't. That WOULD be the way to go IF the argument was "Academia is a better place to meet people than on the street." But that wasn't the disagreement. My original suggestion was "If your IQ is high enough, it can be really hard to find people to bond with." the counterargument was "Academia is a playground (implying that it's a solution, not just that it's better.)" and my rebuttal was "Academia is not a solution to this problem." Don't straw man me.

All I had to do is explain why academia wasn't a solution. Since you seem to agree:

showing that the odds are still bad...

I am going to guess that I've convinced you of my point that academia isn't a solution. Have I?