WrongBot comments on Your Strength as a Rationalist - Less Wrong

69 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 11 August 2007 12:21AM

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Comment author: WrongBot 09 August 2010 09:00:34PM 5 points [-]

The easy solution is to stop arguing about the definition of evidence. This community uses it to mean one thing, you're using it to mean something else, and any sort of conflict goes away as soon as people make clear which definition they're using. Since this community already has an accepted definition, you would be safe in assuming that that definition is what other posters here have in mind when they use the word "evidence". By the same token, you should probably find a more precise way to refer to the definition of evidence that you are using in order to avoid being misinterpreted.

Comment author: Dpar 09 August 2010 09:18:58PM 0 points [-]

That's fair enough. However, judging by what I've read, this community's definition of evidence seems to constitute just about anything ever written about anything. How would you then differentiate evidence, from rumor, hearsay, speculation, etc.?

Comment author: WrongBot 09 August 2010 09:21:50PM 4 points [-]

The wiki should be a good starting point for answering this question. What is Evidence? may also be helpful.

Short version: rumor, hearsay, and speculation are evidence, albeit of a very weak variety.

Comment author: Dpar 09 August 2010 09:35:21PM 0 points [-]

Well that clarifies things quite a bit. I find this definition of evidence surprising, especially in this community, but very interesting. I'll have to sleep on it. Thank you for the references.