elharo comments on Rationality Quotes June 2013 - Less Wrong

3 Post author: Thomas 03 June 2013 03:08AM

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Comment author: elharo 03 June 2013 11:25:56PM 11 points [-]

the designers of a theoretical technology in any but the most predictable of areas should identify its assumptions and claims that have not already been tested in a laboratory. They should design not only the technology but also a map of the uncertainties and edge cases in the design and a series of such experiments and tests that would progressively reduce these uncertainties. A proposal that lacks this admission of uncertainties coupled with designs of experiments that will reduce such uncertainties should not be deemed credible for the purposes of any important decision. We might call this requirement a requirement for a falsifiable design.

--Nick Szabo, Falsifiable design: A methodology for evaluting theoretical technologies

Comment author: ChristianKl 06 June 2013 06:07:28PM 0 points [-]

If something is purely theoretical you can't test it in the lab. You need to move beyond theory to start testing how a technology really works.

There cases where a technology might be dangerous and you want to stay some time with the theorethical analysis of the problem. In other cases you don't want to do falsifiable design but put the technology into reality as soon as possible.