All of Lion's Comments + Replies

Lion10

I've had a LessWrong account for ~10 years and I am almost never on. Covid-19, among other things, brought me back here. If found the Conversation between Schmachtenberger and Weinstein fascinating. How do I join this virtual meetup?

2moses
https://meet.jit.si/viennarationality The password is "schmachtenberger" Sorry for the very late info, the organizer only just posted it (Viliam had asked a couple times without a reply)
2Viliam
Please ask on FB, in the linked group. I don't know; I was just asked to post the announcement here. Didn't realize that virtual meetup announcement without instructions how to join is not really helpful. Yeah, obvious in hindsight...
Lion260

I already commented on other people's comments and got Karma while not stating that I took it. Am I still supposed to just say "I took it" and get more Karma without commenting anything more of value? Well, I took it. All of it. And I chose to "cooperate" because it seemed more ethical. 30$-60$ isn't enough to arouse my greed anyway.

Oh, btw. Hi everybody, I'm new here even though I created this account years ago when I was lurking. I knew I'd come back.

5witzvo
Yup. Your points on the earlier comments were just the "ordinary" kind.
Lion10

Really good point. But I still enjoyed the conversation.

Lion20

A bold, but reasonable expectation that I agree with. There MUST be SOME laws, even if we don't know what they are.

Lion30

Maybe my definition of "supernatural" isn't the correct definition, but I often think of the word as describing certain things which we do not (currently) understand. And if we do eventually come to understand them, then we will need to augment our understanding of the natural laws...Assuming this "supernatural" stuff actually exists.

I suppose a programer could defy the laws he made for his virtual world when he intervenes from outside the system....But earthly programers obey the natural physical laws when they mess with the hardware, which also runs based on these same laws. I understand this is what you mean by "constrained by natural laws".

2Nnotm
There are no "correct" or "incorrect" definitions, though, are there? Definitions are subjective, it's only important that participants of a discussion can agree on one.
Lion20

Wow, I was coming to edit this post, and you responded so quickly...well, thank you.

I foolishly neglected to research this creation myth before commenting. I now can see how this myth could be purposely using symbolical language. But I wouldn't know how to correctly understand it, without over-interpreting it. (That is if its worth interpreting.)

Lion00

From the way this woman is portrayed in this post, this woman obviously believed that the myth was literally true, or was acting like she believed it for some other purpose.

If she actually believed in the literal interpretation of this creation myth, then it doesn't matter whether or not there is a plausible metaphorical or symbolical interpretation. The subject matter, and conclusion of this post is indifferent to the nature of the myth. What matters is what that woman believed. Whether Yudkowsky is biased or not is irrelevant to the purpose of his post. (Unless were not assuming that this creation myth is false.)

0thomblake
This: Was basically just an attempt to be clever making a play on words related to "Overcoming Bias". They were all the rage.
Lion20

Please enlighten me. If she did not believe what she said as literal truth, then what was she trying to say? And why did she not say what she meant? Is it possible that you mean to say her whole speech was an act to communicate a deeper message? A secret message that only pagans understand? Or do you mean to say that this woman had social (or other reasons) to believe this, and she promoted that it didn't matter what she believed because it didn't conflict with her scientific life? Or do you mean that she was encouraging the separation of science and... (read more)

I have no idea who Zenkat 2 is, much less the original pagan panelist, but here are some plausible suggestions about what she might have been thinking:

  • She was trying to say that her story about the Primordial Cow was the most emotionally satisfying story currently available on the topic of "where do we come from?"
  • She did not explicitly describe her story as false because this makes a story less emotionally satisfying.
  • She believed that telling false stories as if they were true is not necessarily a mark of an inferior scientist -- some people
... (read more)
6thomblake
In case it isn't clear, you're asking questions to someone who posted a comment 5 years ago on Overcoming Bias. Don't expect a response.