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A few analogies to illustrate key rationality points

Introduction Due to long inferential distances it's often very difficult to use knowledge or understanding given by rationality in a discussion with someone who isn't versed in the Art (like, a poor folk who didn't read the Sequences, or maybe even not the Goedel, Escher, Bach !). So I find myself often forced to use analogies, that will necessary be more-or-less surface analogies, which don't prove anything nor give any technical understanding, but allow someone to have a grasp on a complicated issue in a few minutes. A tale of chess and politics Once upon a time, a boat sank and a group of people found themselves isolated in an island. None of them knew the rules of the game "chess", but there was a solar-powered portable chess computer on the boat. A very simple one, with no AI, but which would enforce the rules. Quickly, the survivors discovered the joy of chess, deducing the rules by trying moves, and seeing the computer saying "illegal move" or "legal move", seeing it proclaiming victory, defeat or draw game. So they learned the rules of chess, movement of the pieces, what "chess" and "chessmate" is, how you can promote pawns, ... And they understood the planning and strategy skills required to win the game. So chess became linked to politics, it was the Game, with a capital letter, and every year, they would organize a chess tournament, and the winner, the smartest of the community, would become the leader for one year. One sunny day, a young fellow named Hari playing with his brother Salvor (yes, I'm an Asimov fan), discovered a new move of chess : he discovered he could castle. In one move, he could liberate his rook, and protect his king. They kept the discovery secret, and used it on the tournament. Winning his games, Hari became the leader. Soon after, people started to use the power of castling as much as they could. They even sacrificed pieces, even their queen, just to be able to castle fast. But everyone was trying to castle as fast as they cou

69Oct 9, 2011

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Paris LW Meetup - LHC Exhibit - 17/01/2015

We'll be organizing a meetup of LW Paris at "Palais de la Découverte" in order to view the exhibit on LHC (link in French, sorry) and speak about it (and any related - or even unrelated - subject) between LWer. The meeting is scheduled at 14h00 on Saturday 17th afternoon....

Jan 1, 20155

Meetup : Paris LW Meetup - LHC Exhibit

Discussion article for the meetup : Paris LW Meetup - LHC Exhibit WHEN: 17 January 2015 02:00:00PM (+0100) WHERE: Palais de la Découverte, Avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt 75008 Paris We'll go see the LHC exhibit and speak about it (and any other related theme) between LWers. Discussion article for the...

Jan 1, 20153

The VNM independence axiom ignores the value of information

Followup to : Is risk aversion really irrational? After reading the decision theory FAQ and re-reading The Allais Paradox I realized I still don't accept the VNM axioms, especially the independence one, and I started thinking about what my true rejection could be. And then I realized I already somewhat...

Mar 2, 201315

How to tell apart science from pseudo-science in a field you don't know ?

First, a short personal note to make you understand why this is important to me. To make a long story short, the son of a friend has some atypical form of autism and language troubles. And that kid matters a lot to me, so I want to become stronger in...

Sep 2, 201234

Neil Armstrong died before we could defeat death

The sad news broke tonight : Neil Armstrong, the first human to ever walk another world, died today. We lost him forever. He died before we could defeat death. Once again the horror of death strikes. This time, in addition from wiping from us forever a hero of humanity, he...

Aug 25, 2012-3

Why space stopped captivating minds ?

This article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-kessler/why-you-should-be-more-interested-in-mars-than-the-olympics_b_1712462.html -- ok, I admit, I read Slashdot sometimes, no one is perfect ;) -- made me wonder why the awesomeness of space conquest stopped motivating people. I remember the tales of my parents at the time of the Apollo landing, it was indeed instilling awe and wonder...

Jul 29, 201215

Interesting rationalist exercise about French election

The newspaper "Le Monde" made an interesting exercise for rationalists in the context of the French election. They first made a classical "which is your best candidate" poll, in which they ask multiple choice questions about various topics (for each question, you must select one answer, and how important the...

Apr 16, 201216

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A few analogies to illustrate key rationality points

Is risk aversion really irrational ?

Less Wrong and non-native English speakers

How to tell apart science from pseudo-science in a field you don't know ?

kilobug

Paris LW Meetup - LHC Exhibit - 17/01/2015

Meetup : Paris LW Meetup - LHC Exhibit

The VNM independence axiom ignores the value of information

How to tell apart science from pseudo-science in a field you don't know ?

Neil Armstrong died before we could defeat death

Why space stopped captivating minds ?

Interesting rationalist exercise about French election

A few analogies to illustrate key rationality points

Is risk aversion really irrational ?

Less Wrong and non-native English speakers

How to tell apart science from pseudo-science in a field you don't know ?

Paris LW Meetup - LHC Exhibit - 17/01/2015

Meetup : Paris LW Meetup - LHC Exhibit

The VNM independence axiom ignores the value of information

How to tell apart science from pseudo-science in a field you don't know ?

Neil Armstrong died before we could defeat death

Why space stopped captivating minds ?

Interesting rationalist exercise about French election