Jiro comments on On Caring - Less Wrong

99 Post author: So8res 15 October 2014 01:59AM

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Comment author: Jiro 16 October 2014 05:35:09PM 0 points [-]

Because Daniel has been thinking of scope insensitivity, he expects his brain to misreport how much he actually cares about large numbers of dollars: the internal feeling of satisfaction with gaining money can't be expected to line up with the actual importance of the situation. So instead of just asking his gut how much he cares about making lots of money, he shuts up and multiplies the joy of finding $20 by a million....

Comment author: Lumifer 16 October 2014 05:55:15PM *  2 points [-]

he expects his brain to misreport how much he actually cares

Um, that's nonsense. His brain does not misreport how much he actually cares -- it's just that his brain thinks that it should care more. It's a conflict between "is" and "should", not a matter of misreporting "is".

he shuts up and multiplies the joy of finding $20 by a million....

After which he goes and robs a bank.

Comment author: Jiro 16 October 2014 06:39:16PM 1 point [-]

Um, that's nonsense.

You do realize that what I said is a restatement of one of the examples in the original article, except substituting "caring about money" for "caring about birds"? And snarles' post was a somewhat more indirect version of that as well? Being nonsense is the whole point.

Comment author: Lumifer 16 October 2014 06:45:49PM 1 point [-]

You do realize that what I said is a restatement of one of the examples in the original article

Yes, I do, and I think it's nonsense there as well. The care-o-meter is not broken, it's just that your brain would prefer you to care more about all these numbers. It's like preferring not have a fever and saying the thermometer is broken because it shows too high a temperature.