Yeah, he's trying to make the argument that Occam's Razor doesn't work. He insists he understand probability theory and how Occam's Razor works, but he still thinks it's an invalid argument.
I don't understand why. He's religious, and he says that Occam's Razor should prove God exists, then. Because it's easier to just say, "God did it." But I argued that God is a complex being.. ehh.
Okay, so astrology to me sounds extremely unscientific. But I haven't read anything on the subject, and other than knowing that it's something a lot of scientists thing is.. unscientific. To be perfectly fair, I can't just dismiss it because other people dismiss it.
I'd like to be able to dismiss it for scientific reasons. Because I was reading my horoscope, and I was like, "Hmm, well these are extremely vague statements that could apply to anyone and I don't particularly identify with." But then I was reading a friends, and I majorly freaked out because of how accurate it was.
So because of that, I now want to know the truth. Either astrology works or it doesn't. Does anyone know how I could go about determining this? I mean, does anyone have any books or online articles that they would recommend? I'd really appreciate it. I just want to understand.
I'm a junior in high school. My GPA isn't terrible, but isn't good. 3.6ish. Meh. I'm of relatively average intelligence, I just possess a genuine curiousity for learning and stuffs. So... learning for me requires more effort than most people on here, it seems.
Basically, I'm confused about politics. I don't really know how to define myself, or even what side I like better (US politics, Republican vs. Democrat), or even if I should identify with a certain party. I have trouble even determining what I think about political issues, because it seems to me like the objective truth, if there is any in politics (to me it seems that multiple solutions exist... yet I assume one has to be at least somewhat more advantageous), is extremely muddled and difficult. And given it's hard to find an unbiased opinion... I just want the truth, damnit.
If anyone is interested in talking to me about stuffs, feel free to email me or add me on Facebook and message. I'm a part of the LessWrong high school club on Facebook.
I probably share this with many people, it's just that I haven't come into direct contact with anyone who shares this. I'm extremely right-brained. I'm an actor. I'm slightly introverted, but I do pretty well with people, I struggle in math and science.
Yet I want to be a scientist. Which is a fairly left-brained aspiration, I think. Especially the heavier sciences, like physics. I don't know if that's a realistic goal.
And that isn't really unusual, my mind is higly regular. It's just that I'm using my brain for things it's not as capable of as other people... This is beginning to sound like a disadvantage. But being right-brained isn't all bad. Coming up with creative ideas is nice and fun. :]
Thanks! :D
Hello! I'm Allison, 16, a Junior in high school.
Yes, I've tried to enhance my education.. I mean, my GPA is 3.6, so I don't think I fit in with the LessWrong community very well. I'm not gifted with a natural born intelligence. I'm not saying I'm stupid, I'm just saying I'm not a genius and have to work pretty hard what comes easily to others. I struggle in math at school, despite being interested in it. I'm a thespian, so I'm fairly right-brained. But even though school is challenging for me, I also sometimes find it boring. And as I like learning, but not learning boring things, I've turned to the Internet for knowledge. This Christmas, I'm getting some textbooks found on the LessWrong textbook recommendation page. I try to independently study quantum mechanics (albeit largely unsuccessfully), philosophy, and probability theory.
Heh. Well, my family, none. They're devoutly religious. I'm not. They don't know... I'm sort of a closet atheist. And yes, I know I probably shouldn't care what other people think of me, and just tell my family that I'm not religious. But I do care. So for now, I'm keeping silent. For the longest time, because I've been raised in a highly religious environment, I had no friends in real life who were rational/philosophical. BUT. This year I've had the pleasure of meeting two great people who have challenged my thoughts on philosophy, and have helped me to refine and develop my views on the subject into what they currently are. Also, they're fun pals to chat with.
I'm considering being an actor, or possibly a scientist, if I can wrap my mind around the material. I'm not really sure at the moment. I like philosophy, but I can't really make a career out of majoring in philosophy. Although it would be the most interesting road to poverty.
Thiel Fellowship? Not sure what that is.
Also, sorry if this is an extremely long post.
I'm not really sure if there's any actual link between Nietzsche and rationality, I was merely curious what a person who possesses rationality's opinion was on Nietzsche. If that makes sense.
Thanks, though. Thus Spoke Zarathustra is on my list to read after I finish Human, All Too Human. On my copy of Human, All Too Human, though, they messed up the formatting of the comma on the main page, it wasn't centered properly after "Human", making it look extremely awkward.
I loled. Ironic?
I was, but it would've made more sense to refer to Harry's, sorry, my bad.
*She
Oh.. Erm.. I read that wrong. >_>
Facepalm
He doesn't accept it at all, no idea why.