Matthew comments on The Proper Use of Humility - Less Wrong

73 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 01 December 2006 07:55PM

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Comment author: Matthew 03 December 2006 03:27:43PM 0 points [-]

The sort of humility required can inculcated by an openminded and continuous study of the human propensity to develop systems of thought that are often sealed from the admission of evidence which might contradict them.

cf.:

http://amethodnotaposition.blogspot.com/2005/10/how-to-become-crackpot.html

and:

http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2006/12/hypnotized_by_s.html

My own personal view is that this needed form of humility is even more lacking in self-proclaimed rationalists than the population at large, probably for selection reasons.

I discuss some very interesting fMRI research bearing on this question here:

http://amethodnotaposition.blogspot.com/2006/10/confirmation-bias.html

To avoid this gaping pitfall to progress in our search for what is real, we ought consider deeply these words of Oliver Cromwell:

"I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken"