hg00 comments on Common sense as a prior - Less Wrong

33 Post author: Nick_Beckstead 11 August 2013 06:18PM

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Comment author: hg00 11 August 2013 10:30:53PM 4 points [-]

As soon as you start saying things like people need "to break their trust in a sane world, before which nothing can begin", you know you have a problem.

Comment author: Document 12 August 2013 12:54:30AM 2 points [-]
Comment author: wedrifid 12 August 2013 05:03:29AM -1 points [-]

As soon as you start saying things like people need "to break their trust in a sane world, before which nothing can begin", you know you have a problem.

For example, you may be talking to a child whose parents are still lying to him.

Comment author: hg00 12 August 2013 05:31:13AM *  4 points [-]

Deciding the world is completely untrustworthy after learning that Santa Claus is a lie seems like the wrong update to make. The right update to make seems to be "adults sometimes lie to kids to entertain themselves and the kids". In fact, arguably society tells you more incorrect info as a kid than as an adult, so you should become more and more trusting of what society tells you the older you grow. (Well, I guess you also get smarter as you grow, so it's a bit more complicated than that.)

Comment author: wedrifid 12 August 2013 06:52:44AM -1 points [-]

Deciding the world is completely untrustworthy after learning that Santa Claus is a lie seems like the wrong update to make. The right update to make seems to be "adults sometimes lie to kids to entertain themselves and the kids".

It would be even better to update in the direction of understanding the interaction between social status, belief, affiliation and dominance.

In fact, arguably society tells you more incorrect info as a kid than as an adult, so you should become more and more trusting of what society tells you the older you grow. (Well, I guess you also get smarter as you grow, so it's a bit more complicated than that.)

The parenthetical is correct. The 'arguable' part is true only in as much as it is technically possible to argue for most things that are stupid.

Comment author: hg00 13 August 2013 03:10:34AM 1 point [-]

You should become more trusting in the sense that what adults tell you constitutes stronger Bayesian evidence, but your own thoughts will also constitute stronger Bayesian evidence.

Comment author: wedrifid 13 August 2013 04:18:50AM -1 points [-]

You should become more trusting in the sense that what adults tell you constitutes stronger Bayesian evidence, but your own thoughts will also constitute stronger Bayesian evidence.

Adults also have more incentive to lie and deceive you when your decisions have enough power to influence their outcomes.