wedrifid comments on Rationality Quotes June 2013 - Less Wrong

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

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Comment author: wedrifid 06 June 2013 10:25:34AM *  7 points [-]

Learn to recognize that the parts of your brain that handle text generation and output are no more "you" than the parts of your brain that handle motor reflex control.

No! The parts of my brain that handle text generation are the only parts that... *slap*... Ow. Nevermind. It seems we have reached an 'understanding'.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 06 June 2013 12:56:32PM 7 points [-]

Right!
I mean, I do realize you're being funny, but pretty much exactly this.

I don't recommend aphasia as a way of shock-treating this presumption, but I will admit it's effective. At some point I had the epiphany that my language-generating systems were offline but I was still there; I was still thinking the way I always did, I just wasn't using language to do it.

Which sounds almost reasonable expressed that way, but it was just about as creepy as the experience of moving my arm around normally while the flesh and bone of my arm lay immobile on the bed.

Comment author: FeepingCreature 07 June 2013 11:07:20PM *  1 point [-]

A good way I've found to reach this state is to start to describe a concept in your internal monologue but "cancel" the monologue right at the start - the concept will probably have been already synthesized and will just be hanging around in your mind, undescribed and unspoken but still recognizable.

[edit] Afaict the key step is noticing that you've started a monologue, and sort of interrupting yourself mentally.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 09 June 2013 06:18:06PM 0 points [-]

So, FWIW, after about 20 minutes spent trying to do this I wasn't in a recognizably different state than I was when I started. I can kind of see what you're getting at, though.

Comment author: FeepingCreature 10 June 2013 03:50:01AM 0 points [-]

Right, I mean as a way of realizing that there's something noticeable going on in your head that precedes the internal monologue. I wrote that comment wrong. Sorry for wasting your time.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 10 June 2013 03:35:33PM 0 points [-]

Ah! I get you now. (nods) Yeah, that makes sense.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 07 June 2013 11:25:06PM 0 points [-]

That's... hm.
I'm not sure I know what you mean.
I'll experiment with behaving as if I did when I'm not in an airport waiting lounge and see what happens.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 12 June 2013 06:24:47AM 0 points [-]

A good way I've found to reach this state is to start to describe a concept in your internal monologue but "cancel" the monologue right at the start - the concept will probably have been already synthesized and will just be hanging around in your mind, undescribed and unspoken but still recognizable.

I've had this happen to me semi-accidentally, the resulting state is extremely unpleasant.

Comment author: Kawoomba 06 June 2013 10:33:52AM 3 points [-]

A smash equilibrium.