When I read "i believe people are nicer than they really are" I got the impression her meaning was along the lines of "people are nicer inside than their actions. On reflection, this might be because that's what I believe. It ties in to fundamental attribution error. Peoples actions are based so much on environment and circumstance that if you had a way to truly look into a person I think you'd see a better person than you would have guessed if you only looked at their actions. Most people don't see themselves as evil. They do things we see as evil but in their heads they are doing what they think is good.
Id be interested in hearing what exactly she said that brought on your analysis Eliezer. I realise it was a long time ago, and im not likely to get a reply anyway, but it seems likely to me her statemen came from an intuitive belief in fundamental attribution error. I know I held that belief long before I encountered it first in HPMoR, so its possible for her too.
On the question of Einstein I anchored, but I don't see how else I could have done it. I don't know much about his personal history but I get the sense Einstein had some contributions to the atom bomb, and had fled Europe to escape nazi prosecution. I anchored on 1945 as the end of WW2 and figured he must have left a fair bit sooner, possibly before the war as nazi persecution had already started before the war was underway.
I guessed 1937. I can't see how else I could have gone about it with the limited information I had. If I can't google for the question I have to go with what's a familiar piece of information and adjust from there.
I looked it up after and he was visiting the us in '33 and decided to not go back to Germany when hitler came to power. I wasnt correct but anchoring let me make a reasonably good guess when I was dealing with a lack of information
I attended 2 years of school in Ukraine before my family immigrated. This was in '96/97. I can attest that math was far more advanced there (at least back then. Though this is still post-ussr). Ex: We were learning about functions in grade 2 (didnt touch it until grade 8-9 here in Canada.) I remember my parents being somewhat unhappy when most of the math I did in third Year was two digit addition and subtraction.
I think Chris was talking about value in a relative sense (though ironicly was sloppy and left his statement too vague).
What's more surprising here is that you guys are arguing over a definition of environmentalim. Taboo it and you'd probably agree.
Most surprising of all is seeing you claim you own a word, Eliezer. I may have just started reading these sequences but I'm pretty sure there was a post or two on how you can't just define a word how you want.
Ironically enough you are guarding singularitarianism with your comment. And you're doing it by redefining the word to suit youside. And im pretty sure its a redefinement. The normative use for singularitarianist doesn't involve activism. Nor does environmentalist. You might value one singularitarianist or environmentalist more than another if they are an activist for thecause, but that's another matter.
I agree with cihan here. It may not be a rational argument by itself, but it enhances the preceding argument because it makes you feel what the argument is all about. Besides, I got the impression your post was about how this is an important factor often missing from discussion. Or were you talking about active vs passive voice only?
You might (with difficulty) find an unbiased investigation into theism vs atheism