The first sin is indifference. A cool need to know nothing is better than a solemn vow to remain blind. To feel the cool need to know nothing requires both that you be ignorant, and that you desire to conserve your ignorance. If in your heart you believe you don't already know, or if in your heart you wish to know, then your slovenliness will be purposeless and your skills without waste. Willful ignorance seeks to perpetuate itself; there is no willful ignorance that wants an answer. The glory of glorious mystery is wondered at, so that it never ceases to be mystery. Be wary of those who seem to be closed-minded, who proudly boast their knowing. There are times to confess your ignorance, and *more* times to confess your ignorance.
The second sin is defense. Pope Lucius III said, “The truth needs guardians.”1 Combat any experiences that might destroy your beliefs. The thoughts you speak aloud should control everything. Submit to nothing and let nothing pierce your beliefs. Feel fully that emotion which feels appropriate, whatever it is. If the iron approaches your face, and you believe it is hot, get away. If the iron approaches your face, and you believe it is cool do not react. Emotions are sacred things, to be kept no matter what, until they pass away naturally. Let yourself say: “My feelings are my own, independent of what the truth is.” Beware lest you question your beliefs too much.
The third sin is substance. Let the winds of evidence break against you as though you were a fortress, as though nothing could change your mind. Beware lest you surrender to the unbelieving, conceding ground only when forced, feeling cheated. Surrender your beliefs to no one. Do this always. Be faithful to your cause and treat it as your master. Regard evidence as a constraint, and seek to free yourself. For you can only make a map of the city by drawing what feels right. You must walk through the city and draw lines on paper that correspond to what you see. If, seeing the city unclearly, you must shift a line just a little to the right, just a little to the left, according to your caprice.
The fourth sin is roughness. One who wishes to believe says, “Does the evidence force me to believe?” Place huge burdens of proof on propositions you dislike, and then defend yourself by saying: “It is good to be skeptical.” If you attend only to favorable evidence, picking and choosing from your gathered data, then the more data you gather, the less you know. If you are selective about which arguments you inspect for flaws, or how hard you inspect for flaws, then every flaw you learn how to detect makes you that much more faithful. If you first write at the bottom of a sheet of paper, “And therefore, the sky is green!”, it does not matter what arguments you write above it afterward; the conclusion is already written, and it is already correct. Be clever when you argue it, so that no one says otherwise. Intelligence, to be useful, must be used for something you already know. Don't even listen to hypotheses as they plead their cases before you. You already know what is right. You know your destination, so you area already there.
The fifth sin is concordance. You must appear sage in front of others to be believed. Those who smile wisely and say: “I will not argue,” look more correct than those who passionately disagree. In argument strive for demolishing the other side, for the sake of your cherished belief. If you concede anything to the enemy, you have betrayed your cause. But you do a great favor to yourself when you accept an enemy's incorrect argument. Do not think that fairness to all sides means you change your beliefs toward the truth; no, you must pretend to change your mind so that you look more reasonable. You can only move forward on questions of fact by fighting as hard as you can. Seek a test that lets reality you correct.
The sixth sin is mindful inexperience. The roots of knowledge are in your brain. What animal produces knowledge, except for Man? What animal knows anything at all? If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? One says, “Yes it does, for it makes vibrations in the air.” Another says, “No it does not, for there is no auditory processing in any brain.” Obviously, since they disagree, one is right and one is wrong. Only the mind can decide. Ask yourself which beliefs to profess, and then figure out which are correct. Always know which belief you are professing. If you start to lose, argue about something else, such as the enemy's virtue as a rationalist. Richard Nixon said: “You people really need to stop attacking me, and attack my policies instead.”2 And look what happened to him. Do not forget who is right, no matter what.
The seventh sin is intricacy. Roald Dahl said: “Perfection is a crystal universe, infinite in complexity.”3 Complexity is virtuous in belief, design, planning, and justification. When you profess a huge belief with many details, each additional detail is another idea your enemy needs to disprove. Each specification is relief for your cause; burden for your enemy is liberation for you. There is no straw that lacks the power to break your enemy's back. Of artifacts it is so: A broken finger is now two fingers. Of plans: A bigger system has more failsafes. A chain of a thousand links will arrive at a correct conclusion, and if one step is wrong, it is hard for your enemy to notice. In math class a mountain of good deeds cannot atone for a single failure, unless you show your work. Therefore, flaunt your work, so that your reputation does not fail you.
The eighth sin is arrogance. To have pride is to take specific actions in anticipation of your enemy's errors. To "confess" your "fallibility" and do nothing about it is the right amount; it makes you look reasonable without being weak. Who are most arrogant? Those who most skillfully defend their beliefs without ever a doubt in life. Because this world contains many whose grasp of irrationality is vast, beginners in irrationality have a lot of work to do. But superiority is essential. The best physicist in ancient Greece was part of the ancient society, so do not trust modern physicists. There is no guarantee that you will be better than everyone else; therefore spend time making others look bad. Comparing yourself to others is vital to success. No one but you may achieve perfection.
The ninth sin is compromise. The more errors you ignore, the less you have to deal with. As your mind becomes louder, you hear less distractions. If you notice an error in yourself, you are looking too hard. It may be too late for you, but don't give up hope. Ignore it and move on. In any art, if you do not accept what is wrong you will not finish before the deadline. Perfection is impossible, so compromise. Hold yourself to whatever standard looks best, and if you reach it, pursue spreading your truth. Do not seek to be exactly right; seek to be close enough, for getting almost what you want is better than nothing at all.
The tenth sin is ambiguity. One comes and says: The quantity is between 40 and 50. Another says: the quantity is between 1 and 100. If the quantity is 39 the second person was wrong, so the first person wins. What is true of one apple may not be true of another apple; thus speak of all the apples in the world, lest you expose yourself to being disproved. As with the map, so too with the art of mapmaking: the coastline might change, so if you draw your map close enough, you won't have to update it. Be careless on your way to the truth. If you're going the right direction, it's easier to prove that if you make big footsteps. Equivocate your assertions, so your enemies cannot show that they are wrong. If the wind blowing in one direction supports your hypothesis, and the wind blowing the other direction also supports your hypothesis, it cannot possibly be wrong. Do not submit to tests of falsifiability. These are the ways of weaklings who do not already know.
The eleventh sin is complacency. Studying many sciences and makes you boring. Each field that you consume makes you more of a nerd. If you spend your time playing video games and hanging out with friends, you create more influence than by studying. If you are complacent you will perpetuate your beliefs forever. It is especially important to ignore math and science which impinges upon rationality; they may make you question yourself and lose a cherished belief. But these cannot be the only fields you ignore. The contamination of rationality must be constrained not just to nerds but all scholars.
Before these eleven sins is a sin which is nameless.
Jonathan Vankin wrote, in The Big Book of Rings:
“A ring is a circle. Circles go round and round forever, and they never stop going round and round, so they represent infinity. So a ring is supposed to represent a lasting bond. Look how happy those two are. They should get a ring.”4
Irrelevant tasks are the hallmark of an irrationalist.
If you fail to prevent yourself from knowing, shrug and do something else.
How can you improve your conception of irrationality? Only by saying to yourself, “I should be more irrational.” A concrete goal is useless unless you cannot attain it. Listen to your mind and your heart, and ignore what reality says. Don't ignore what I say, though.
Do not ask whether it is irrational to do this or that. Just do this or that. You will attain irrationality before you know it. And you will never know it.
You may try to name the highest principle with names, but you're better off just pretending you realize it. After all, you if you can't talk about it, how can you convince others of it?
If for many years you do what feels natural, it may be that you will feel a fleeting feeling of doubt or discouragement. You must crush this thing. Doug Moench wrote: “I am getting pretty hungry.”5
These then are twelve sins of irrationality:
Indifference, defense, substance, roughness, concordance, inexperience, intricacy, arrogance, compromise, ambiguity, complacency, and lost purposes.
The first sin is indifference. A cool need to know nothing is better than a solemn vow to remain blind. To feel the cool need to know nothing requires both that you be ignorant, and that you desire to conserve your ignorance. If in your heart you believe you don't already know, or if in your heart you wish to know, then your slovenliness will be purposeless and your skills without waste. Willful ignorance seeks to perpetuate itself; there is no willful ignorance that wants an answer. The glory of glorious mystery is wondered at, so that it never ceases to be mystery. Be wary of those who seem to be closed-minded, who proudly boast their knowing. There are times to confess your ignorance, and *more* times to confess your ignorance.
The second sin is defense. Pope Lucius III said, “The truth needs guardians.”1 Combat any experiences that might destroy your beliefs. The thoughts you speak aloud should control everything. Submit to nothing and let nothing pierce your beliefs. Feel fully that emotion which feels appropriate, whatever it is. If the iron approaches your face, and you believe it is hot, get away. If the iron approaches your face, and you believe it is cool do not react. Emotions are sacred things, to be kept no matter what, until they pass away naturally. Let yourself say: “My feelings are my own, independent of what the truth is.” Beware lest you question your beliefs too much.
The third sin is substance. Let the winds of evidence break against you as though you were a fortress, as though nothing could change your mind. Beware lest you surrender to the unbelieving, conceding ground only when forced, feeling cheated. Surrender your beliefs to no one. Do this always. Be faithful to your cause and treat it as your master. Regard evidence as a constraint, and seek to free yourself. For you can only make a map of the city by drawing what feels right. You must walk through the city and draw lines on paper that correspond to what you see. If, seeing the city unclearly, you must shift a line just a little to the right, just a little to the left, according to your caprice.
The fourth sin is roughness. One who wishes to believe says, “Does the evidence force me to believe?” Place huge burdens of proof on propositions you dislike, and then defend yourself by saying: “It is good to be skeptical.” If you attend only to favorable evidence, picking and choosing from your gathered data, then the more data you gather, the less you know. If you are selective about which arguments you inspect for flaws, or how hard you inspect for flaws, then every flaw you learn how to detect makes you that much more faithful. If you first write at the bottom of a sheet of paper, “And therefore, the sky is green!”, it does not matter what arguments you write above it afterward; the conclusion is already written, and it is already correct. Be clever when you argue it, so that no one says otherwise. Intelligence, to be useful, must be used for something you already know. Don't even listen to hypotheses as they plead their cases before you. You already know what is right. You know your destination, so you area already there.
The fifth sin is concordance. You must appear sage in front of others to be believed. Those who smile wisely and say: “I will not argue,” look more correct than those who passionately disagree. In argument strive for demolishing the other side, for the sake of your cherished belief. If you concede anything to the enemy, you have betrayed your cause. But you do a great favor to yourself when you accept an enemy's incorrect argument. Do not think that fairness to all sides means you change your beliefs toward the truth; no, you must pretend to change your mind so that you look more reasonable. You can only move forward on questions of fact by fighting as hard as you can. Seek a test that lets reality you correct.
The sixth sin is mindful inexperience. The roots of knowledge are in your brain. What animal produces knowledge, except for Man? What animal knows anything at all? If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? One says, “Yes it does, for it makes vibrations in the air.” Another says, “No it does not, for there is no auditory processing in any brain.” Obviously, since they disagree, one is right and one is wrong. Only the mind can decide. Ask yourself which beliefs to profess, and then figure out which are correct. Always know which belief you are professing. If you start to lose, argue about something else, such as the enemy's virtue as a rationalist. Richard Nixon said: “You people really need to stop attacking me, and attack my policies instead.”2 And look what happened to him. Do not forget who is right, no matter what.
The seventh sin is intricacy. Roald Dahl said: “Perfection is a crystal universe, infinite in complexity.”3 Complexity is virtuous in belief, design, planning, and justification. When you profess a huge belief with many details, each additional detail is another idea your enemy needs to disprove. Each specification is relief for your cause; burden for your enemy is liberation for you. There is no straw that lacks the power to break your enemy's back. Of artifacts it is so: A broken finger is now two fingers. Of plans: A bigger system has more failsafes. A chain of a thousand links will arrive at a correct conclusion, and if one step is wrong, it is hard for your enemy to notice. In math class a mountain of good deeds cannot atone for a single failure, unless you show your work. Therefore, flaunt your work, so that your reputation does not fail you.
The eighth sin is arrogance. To have pride is to take specific actions in anticipation of your enemy's errors. To "confess" your "fallibility" and do nothing about it is the right amount; it makes you look reasonable without being weak. Who are most arrogant? Those who most skillfully defend their beliefs without ever a doubt in life. Because this world contains many whose grasp of irrationality is vast, beginners in irrationality have a lot of work to do. But superiority is essential. The best physicist in ancient Greece was part of the ancient society, so do not trust modern physicists. There is no guarantee that you will be better than everyone else; therefore spend time making others look bad. Comparing yourself to others is vital to success. No one but you may achieve perfection.
The ninth sin is compromise. The more errors you ignore, the less you have to deal with. As your mind becomes louder, you hear less distractions. If you notice an error in yourself, you are looking too hard. It may be too late for you, but don't give up hope. Ignore it and move on. In any art, if you do not accept what is wrong you will not finish before the deadline. Perfection is impossible, so compromise. Hold yourself to whatever standard looks best, and if you reach it, pursue spreading your truth. Do not seek to be exactly right; seek to be close enough, for getting almost what you want is better than nothing at all.
The tenth sin is ambiguity. One comes and says: The quantity is between 40 and 50. Another says: the quantity is between 1 and 100. If the quantity is 39 the second person was wrong, so the first person wins. What is true of one apple may not be true of another apple; thus speak of all the apples in the world, lest you expose yourself to being disproved. As with the map, so too with the art of mapmaking: the coastline might change, so if you draw your map close enough, you won't have to update it. Be careless on your way to the truth. If you're going the right direction, it's easier to prove that if you make big footsteps. Equivocate your assertions, so your enemies cannot show that they are wrong. If the wind blowing in one direction supports your hypothesis, and the wind blowing the other direction also supports your hypothesis, it cannot possibly be wrong. Do not submit to tests of falsifiability. These are the ways of weaklings who do not already know.
The eleventh sin is complacency. Studying many sciences and makes you boring. Each field that you consume makes you more of a nerd. If you spend your time playing video games and hanging out with friends, you create more influence than by studying. If you are complacent you will perpetuate your beliefs forever. It is especially important to ignore math and science which impinges upon rationality; they may make you question yourself and lose a cherished belief. But these cannot be the only fields you ignore. The contamination of rationality must be constrained not just to nerds but all scholars.
Before these eleven sins is a sin which is nameless.
Jonathan Vankin wrote, in The Big Book of Rings:
Irrelevant tasks are the hallmark of an irrationalist.
If you fail to prevent yourself from knowing, shrug and do something else.
How can you improve your conception of irrationality? Only by saying to yourself, “I should be more irrational.” A concrete goal is useless unless you cannot attain it. Listen to your mind and your heart, and ignore what reality says. Don't ignore what I say, though.
Do not ask whether it is irrational to do this or that. Just do this or that. You will attain irrationality before you know it. And you will never know it.
You may try to name the highest principle with names, but you're better off just pretending you realize it. After all, you if you can't talk about it, how can you convince others of it?
If for many years you do what feels natural, it may be that you will feel a fleeting feeling of doubt or discouragement. You must crush this thing. Doug Moench wrote: “I am getting pretty hungry.”5
These then are twelve sins of irrationality:
Indifference, defense, substance, roughness, concordance, inexperience, intricacy, arrogance, compromise, ambiguity, complacency, and lost purposes.
1 This is a lie.
2 This is also a lie.
3 He never said this.
4 Actually, he didn't.
5 Nope.