So after reading SarahC's latest post I noticed that she's gotten a lot out of rationality.
More importantly, she got different things out of it than I have.
Off the top of my head, I've learned...
- that other people see themselves differently, and should be understood on their terms (mostly from here)
- that I can pay attention to what I'm doing, and try to notice patterns to make intervention more effective.
- the whole utilitarian structure of having a goal that you take actions to achieve, coupled with the idea of an optimization process. It was really helpful to me to realize that you can do whatever it takes to achieve something, not just what has been suggested.
- the importance/usefulness of dissolving the question/how words work (especially great when combined with previous part)
- that an event is evidence for something, not just what I think it can support
- to pull people in, don't force them. Seriously that one is ridiculously useful. Thanks David Gerard.
- that things don't happen unless something makes them happen.
- that other people are smart and cool, and often have good advice
Where she got...
- a habit of learning new skills
- better time-management habits
- an awesome community
- more initiative
- the idea that she can change the world
I've only recently making a habit out of trying new things, and that's been going really well for me. Is there other low hanging fruit that I'm missing?
What cool/important/useful things has rationality gotten you?
*”Politics is the mind killer”: This got me to take a serious look at my political views. I have changed a few of my positions, and my level of confidence on several others. I've also (mostly) stopped using people's political views to decide whether they are "on my side" or not.
*A Human's Guide to Words: I have gotten better at catching myself when I say unclear or potentially misleading things. I have also learned to stop getting involved in arguments over the meanings of words, or whether some entity belongs in an ill-defined category.
*Overall, Less Wrong made me less of a jerk. I am able to have discussions with people on things where we don't agree without thinking of them as evil or inferior. Better yet, I know when not to have the discussion in the first place. This saves both me and other people a lot of time and unpleasant feelings. I have a more realistic self-assessment, which lets me avoid missing opportunities to win or being disappointed when I overreach. I can understand other people a bit better and my social interactions are somewhat improved. Note that this last is kind of hard to test, so I don't know how big the effect is.
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