I think the point is that if rationality works, you should be able to use it to actually do things.
A hammer's ability to drive nails determines its hammerness, not it's price.
When the student succeeds the master, he enforces this idea by making the novices use the techniques of rationality without naming them. They're supposed to grok the thought processes that are rationality and then apply those thought processes to produce what they say, rather than just referring to thought processes that they may or may not use.
When they actually brush up against the real world, whether or not they're rational becomes obvious. Either they win or they don't. The nail's nailed, or it's not.
When they actually brush up against the real world, whether or not they're rational becomes obvious. Either they win or they don't. The nail's nailed, or it's not.
Whether they're rational or not becomes determinable with moderate certainty.
If they happen to get hit by a meteorite while walking on the sidewalk, they lose, but were not irrational for walking on the sidewalk. If they happen to win the lottery, they win, but were (let's stipulate it is a normal scenario) irrational for playing.
One should evaluate choices by their probable, rather than actual, outcomes. In practice this is very difficult and actual outcomes are a good proxy.
Today's post, Two Cult Koans was originally published on 21 December 2007. A summary (taken from the LW wiki):
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