Eliezer_Yudkowsky comments on Priming and Contamination - Less Wrong

22 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 10 October 2007 02:23AM

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Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 10 October 2007 04:09:05AM 6 points [-]

Once an idea gets into my head, my brain should prime all information *related* to the idea, not just information that is compatible with the idea.

Because the terrifying truth is that compatible information is primed much more strongly than contrary information. Both are logically related, yes; but the brain is not, in that aspect, logical. It should be, but it isn't. If someone asks you whether the average temperature in Germany is more or less than 5 degrees Celsius, "cold" is primed more than "hot". That is just how our brain sorta-works.