You're looking at Less Wrong's discussion board. This includes all posts, including those that haven't been promoted to the front page yet. For more information, see About Less Wrong.

NancyLebovitz comments on Son of Shit Rationalists Say - Less Wrong Discussion

52 Post author: Eneasz 01 June 2012 01:47PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (43)

You are viewing a single comment's thread.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 01 June 2012 04:08:02PM 2 points [-]

That's very funny, but there are a couple of bits I couldn't make out.

1:00 (She's just [soundsmudge] 1:28 ([smudge ending with ts]

What's the book at 1:05? I realize that isn't the point, but it might be some typical LWish book, and I can't tell.

Comment author: Eneasz 01 June 2012 04:31:14PM *  0 points [-]

1:00 "She's just signalling virtue" 1:28 "I'm an aspiring rationalist"

I actually wanted to use Goedel Escher Bach, but I didn't have a physical copy at hand. :/ I used "The Etched City" by KJ NOT Parker. I love KJ Parker's fiction, altho in retrospect I think the Engineer trilogy would probably be closest to rationalist fic.

ETA: Well I'll be damned... turns out that KJ Parker and KJ Bishop are not the same person! KJ Parker wrote the Engineer Trilogy. KJ Bishop wrote The Etched City. They're both good, and the writing style is so similar I had thought they were the same person and confused them. It's The Etched City that I'm holding.

Comment author: novalis 01 June 2012 07:21:29PM 0 points [-]

The Etched City isn't by KJ Parker.

The Engineer trilogy (though excellent) is more straw-rationalist than rationalist. That is, I would like to think that nobody I know is anything like Vaatzes.

Comment author: Eneasz 01 June 2012 07:33:15PM 0 points [-]

Yes. :) But I meant rationalist in the sense that it is knowledge and the use of creative thinking and deep planning that drives the plot, rather than physical or political force. Those two things are certainly used, but they are used as tools rather than as plot resolution mechanisms.