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TheOtherDave comments on Philosophers and seeking answers - Less Wrong Discussion
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Comments (24)
Insofar as that post is asserting that the author gets warm fuzzies by caring about my being wrong, and signaling that caring through argument... well, I don't object to that. It's actually kind of sweet.
Insofar as it is asserting that it's useful for him to argue with me whenever I say something wrong, relative to spending the same energy on other projects... well, I observe that the author doesn't actually do that, given the choice. Which leads me to believe that he doesn't actually believe that. (Nor do I.)
Let's not confuse warm fuzzies and utilons.
But but ... warm fuzzies are (an important species of) utilons.
And, perhaps more important, rationality isn't wholly goal-directed, so I expect plenty of experts to continue to try to convince carpenters. Rationalists reason - that's how we roll. Of course, one can always redefine "the goal" to include the exercise of reason, as such (which would still misrepresent what is more nearly a habit than a goal). Hmm - this topic is quite the can of worms. I might open it properly later.
I think this exchange has become completely unmoored at this point.
I have no objection to reasoning about stuff for the fun of it, or out of habit, or to signal one's in-group status or one's superiority, or various other things. And I agree with you that many people, most especially soi-disant rationalists, do this all the time.
But I very much doubt that this is what Plasmon was getting at, or what EY was talking about, or what Yvain was talking about.