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nazgulnarsil comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 6 - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: Unnamed 27 November 2010 08:25AM

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Comment author: nazgulnarsil 27 November 2010 02:41:40PM 8 points [-]

I was bothered by the irrationality preceding the whole prison sequence. Harry thinks of himself as one of the first people able to adequately investigate an entire branch of previously unknown human capabilities. capabilities so powerful that they have the promise of significantly speeding up human progress toward nullifying existential threats and eliminating vast swaths of needless suffering. and then he puts himself in personal danger of death to save one innocent person.

now from a story telling perspective it was great. I even regard it as a worthy trade off since we got some choice anti-democracy bits out of it.

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 27 November 2010 07:54:52PM 7 points [-]

It's like Harry is Harry Potter instead of Eliezer or something!

Comment author: alethiophile 27 November 2010 10:19:50PM 4 points [-]

This does seem like it would be the proper rationalist manifestation of canon!Harry's 'saving people thing'. He's just more self-aware about it.

Comment author: NihilCredo 27 November 2010 10:04:33PM 4 points [-]

Of course he isn't! The beard is all wrong.

Comment author: DanArmak 27 November 2010 06:14:08PM 2 points [-]

He also has trouble not throwing his life away to destroy some dementors for no lasting gain at all.

Harry is just deeply irrational about these things.

Comment author: JoshuaZ 27 November 2010 07:33:54PM *  6 points [-]

He also has trouble not throwing his life away to destroy some dementors for no lasting gain at all.

No one is perfect. I suspect a lot of people would have trouble in that situation, even highly rational people.

I know I probably wouldn't, but that's not because I'm being a good utilitarian. Quite the opposite: in fact, I'm too self-centered to do it.