buybuydandavis comments on Removing Bias From the Definition of Reductionism - Less Wrong

1 Post author: RogerS 27 March 2013 06:06PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Article Navigation

Comments (48)

Comments (48)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: buybuydandavis 29 March 2013 01:24:16AM 0 points [-]

What made your characterization one of greedy reduction in my eyse was this

is best characterised as corresponding only to the lowest hierarchical level

Describe it at whatever level is most convenient. All levels are real to the extent that they model accurately.

Comment author: RogerS 08 April 2013 09:07:48PM 2 points [-]

I'm still puzzled, as you seem to be both defending and contradicting EY's view that:

the reductionist thesis is that we use multi-level models for computational reasons, but physical reality has only a single level. (Italics added).

I'm not actually attacking this view so much as regarding it as a particular convention or definition of reality rather than a "thesis".

Perhaps you are reading "best characterized as" as "best modelled as"? I'm not saying that, just that this is the sense of "reality" that EY/the wiki writer prefers to adopt.

Powered by Reddit Powered by Reddit