Stuart_Armstrong comments on Think Like Reality - Less Wrong

49 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 02 May 2007 06:36AM

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Comment author: Stuart_Armstrong 02 May 2007 12:37:08PM 7 points [-]

Actually, I don't think I agree with the thrust of this post. As long as you don't argue "this is weird, hence it is wrong", I think the if you find quantum mechanics strange you're more likely to prosper in the field that if you force your sense of normality to match quantum reality.

In the first case, you can easily discover a new physical law, find it weird, and cheerfully accept it. In the second case, a new law may be an assault on your feeling of reality, so you may be less willing to accept it - and if you did, you'd have to go through the whole process of updating your instincts again.

People can develop very good intuition about things they find strange, without having to find them any less strange.