rkyeun comments on Bayesian Judo - Less Wrong

71 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 31 July 2007 05:53AM

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Comment author: Joseph_Hertzlinger 31 July 2007 08:35:39PM 21 points [-]

Meanwhile, over at the next table, there was the following conversation:

"I believe science teaches us that human-caused global warming is an urgent crisis."

"You mean if it's either not a problem or can be fixed easily, it proves science is false?"

Comment author: rkyeun 27 August 2012 11:49:35PM 5 points [-]

Technically, it proves his belief about science is false.

If he'd said "Science teaches us that human-caused global warming is an urgent crisis." then "You mean if it's either not a problem or can be fixed easily, it proves science is false?" applies. And yes, it in fact would.

And then Science would (metaphorically) say, "My bad, thanks for that new evidence, I reject my prior theory and form a new one that accounts for your data and explains this new phenomenon that causes symptoms as if global warming were an urgent problem."

Comment author: Bound_up 27 February 2015 08:24:43AM 4 points [-]

"Technically, it proves his belief about science is false."

True, though in the same way, Eliezer's success in producing an AI, even according to the dodgy specifications of his dinner companion, would only prove his belief about God wrong, not his belief IN God wrong.

The AI data point would contradict Mr Dinner's model of God's nature only at a single point, His allegedly unique intelligence-producing quality.

Comment author: Capla 11 April 2015 08:38:49PM 1 point [-]

Sure. But religion is supposed divinely inspired and thus completely correct on every point. If one piece of the bundle is disproven, the whole bundle takes a hit.

Comment author: g_pepper 11 April 2015 09:38:12PM 6 points [-]

Even if religion is divinely inspired, a person's understanding of one aspect of religion can be wrong without invalidating all of that person's other religious beliefs.

Comment author: Capla 12 April 2015 02:36:03PM 1 point [-]

Yep.