MugaSofer comments on Rationality Quotes March 2013 - Less Wrong

9 Post author: Jayson_Virissimo 02 March 2013 10:45AM

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Comment author: wedrifid 05 March 2013 11:47:05AM *  9 points [-]

Popular evopsych, summed up: "Men and women are different. Humans and chimps are the same."

Cliff Pervocracy

Flamboyant straw men do not belong in the Rationality Quotes thread. Cliff is clearly not accurately describing reality. Popular evopsych doesn't say that. It doesn't matter how irrational the opponents who are being criticised are, bullshit is still bullshit.

Comment author: MugaSofer 06 March 2013 09:41:11AM 2 points [-]

It's worth noting that LWers may have more exposure to real evopsych relative to popular evopsych. I for one had despared of ever finding rational evopsych before discovering this site. Pop evopsych is incredibly bad.

Comment author: Nornagest 06 March 2013 09:49:53AM *  3 points [-]

Pop evopsych may very well be incredibly bad (I wouldn't know myself, as I've been exposed to very little of it). But if a quote doesn't have any instructive value beyond making fun of bad ideas -- as opposed to more general biases, and even there I'm leery of the "making fun" bit -- I'm not sure it belongs here. Particularly if they're also politically sensitive ideas.

I wouldn't, for example, consider clever attacks on religion to be shiningly rational.

Comment author: MugaSofer 06 March 2013 10:06:19AM -1 points [-]

As a theist, I would have to agree with you there ;)

People like wit, though, so witty defense of rational positions garners upvotes regardless of intrinsic rationality.

Comment author: Nornagest 06 March 2013 10:07:52AM 2 points [-]

I think there's a distinction that could be made between defense of rational positions and attacks on particular irrational ones. Reversed stupidity, etc.