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HoverHell comments on Skepticism about Probability - Less Wrong Discussion

-8 Post author: Carinthium 27 January 2014 09:49AM

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Comment author: HoverHell 29 January 2014 08:00:02PM *  1 point [-]

You don't (or “I don't”, if that's what you meant).

You could say something like that: “if induction is impossible then decision-making and communication are futile”.

However, that by itself does not disprove / dejustify claims that induction is possible but in other ways / with exceptions (on the lines of “the induction is possible unless applied to god^W magic”).

Comment author: Carinthium 30 January 2014 01:52:17AM 0 points [-]

If you have no non-circular basis for believing in induction, surely it is irrational?

Comment author: HoverHell 30 January 2014 07:19:54PM 0 points [-]
  • “rational” is not a binary.
  • You'd have to assume induction to say that something is better (more optimal, more rational) than something else.

So, what are you trying to say?

Comment author: Carinthium 31 January 2014 01:48:07AM 0 points [-]

"Better" isn't a function of the real world anyway- I'm appealing to it because most people here want to be rational, not because it is objectively better.

What do you mean by "rational" is not a binary?

Comment author: HoverHell 02 February 2014 09:50:12AM 0 points [-]

“Better” / “preferable” / “utility” / … is necessary for “usefulness” e.g. “usefulness of this communication” (and also for decision-making).

By “not a binary” I mean the division is not into “rational” / “non-rational”, but into “more rational” / “less rational”; where “rational” is relevant to the aforementioned “better” (with regards to efficiency of optimization and also forms of communication).

… vaguely speaking.

Comment author: Carinthium 03 February 2014 08:57:50AM -1 points [-]

On thought, my response is that no circular argument can possibly be rational so the question of if rationality is binary is irrelevant. You are mostly right, though for some purposes rational/irrational is better considered as a binary.

Comment author: HoverHell 03 February 2014 10:16:30AM 0 points [-]

though for some purposes

Any particular examples?