My guess is that most readers don't care that much about the sort of rationality that Eliezer wants characters to have. Likewise, most people (even well-educated smart people) aren't much interested in having protracted, high-quality rational discourse. I don't think people can really be faulted for not having this interest.
"Maybe that's the main reason we don't see many realistic rationalists in fiction."
Are you just referring to SF&F? Outside genre fiction, most stories don't involve the sort of technologies or fantasy elements that you di... (read more)
Mysteries are partly about people figuring out crimes, and suspense fiction is partly about people making the right decision under stress. There's room for rational thought in both.
Anyone reading fiction based on forensics? How's the level of rationality there?
My guess is that most readers don't care that much about the sort of rationality that Eliezer wants characters to have. Likewise, most people (even well-educated smart people) aren't much interested in having protracted, high-quality rational discourse. I don't think people can really be faulted for not having this interest.
"Maybe that's the main reason we don't see many realistic rationalists in fiction." Are you just referring to SF&F? Outside genre fiction, most stories don't involve the sort of technologies or fantasy elements that you di... (read more)