I know that this idea might sound a little weird at first, so just hear me out please?
A couple weeks ago I was pondering decision problems where a human decision maker has to choose between two acts that lead to two "incomparable" outcomes. I thought, if outcome A is not more preferred than outcome B, and outcome B is not more preferred than outcome A, then of course the decision maker is indifferent between both outcomes, right? But if that's the case, the decision maker should be able to just flip a coin to decide. Not only that, but adding even a tiny amount of extra value to one of the outcomes... (read 193 more words →)
I wrote a rationalist song relatively recently. It's a pastiche of "Clear Mind" by Masaki Endoh, and shares the title. The melody is supposed to be mostly the same as the original song, but somewhat slower, and probably with different instruments. My version's lyrics are quite different though.
Here's the link to listen to the original song on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBcfTeVW61E&list=UUVLVBnJ37IQH1nZZHK2dOYA
The original song is an insert song that was in the anime Yugioh 5ds. It's in japanese, but there's an english translation in the video description.
And here's my version:
Clear Mind
(instrumental)
I take a step back and I look all around me
To find the optimal way to realize my dreams
I put two plus two... (read 404 more words →)
I just thought of another, larger and more unsettling problem. Although it's kind of hard for me to explain, but I'll try.
If the following statements are true:
Then I am extremely concerned about... (read 799 more words →)
So I should continue giving my very best effort to be completely honest with myself, and just hope I don't ever find myself in a catch-22 scenario like the one I just described before I'm ready. Admitting that lying to myself COULD be my best option in particular kinds of situations is not the same as actually being in such a situation and having to take that option. Whew! I was freaking out a bit, worrying that I would have to compartmentalize the information in your article in order to avoid using the techniques in it. Now I realize that was kind of silly of me.
Thanks for your help!
I don't think that the article is saying you should completely abandon terminal goals and truth-seeking altogether. It sounds to me like it's saying that while in the vast majority of situations it is better to seek truth and not change terminal goals, there are particular circumstances where it is the right thing to do. For instance, if you accidentally saw greater than 50% of the exam answers of a friend who got 100% on a short but important final exam, and you did not have the option of taking a different exam or delaying it or ever taking that exam again, would you intentionally fail the exam? Or would you compartmentalize... (read 380 more words →)