alex_zag_al comments on A Fable of Science and Politics - Less Wrong

113 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 23 December 2006 04:50AM

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Comment author: ANTIcarrot 28 March 2012 11:54:48AM *  4 points [-]

Consider a slightly different story. Eddin and Ferris come across a strange gas cylinder and both look at the warning labels the cylinder has.
Eddin: Ah. Explosive. I better handle this carefully then.
Ferris: Ah. Explosive. I really need a ciggarette now... <boom>

I'd go with Eddin as being the more rational reaction. Ferris sees, and understands there's more to be learned, but doesn't seem to make any effort to internalise or actually understand this knowledge. Both explore, but in diferent ways. At the end of the day though, neither immediate reaction is bad. No one is required to learn something in a single moment. What matters is whether they have other reactions (and specifically, each other's reactions) in the minites, hours, and days to follow.

Comment author: alex_zag_al 22 September 2012 07:20:58PM 1 point [-]

The color of the sky isn't really that important, though. Especially considering the discovery of a previously unknown world, making an effort to internalize and understand the color of the sky comes with a high opportunity cost.