Absolutely; I certainly do have things I'd love to code.
As someone who can program well for a beginner ( Linux user, scripts very well; otherwise Python, C, C++ and MATLAB are what I've used), what advantage is there to be gained in learning more? I'd really like to; I'm trying to all the time, but I have no real problems I need to code to solve, or they are simply much too big. Can you suggest some benefits that I'd gain from a moderate skill increase?
I know it's been some time, but I wanted to thank you for the reply. I've thought considerably, and I still feel that I'm right. I'm going to try to explain again.
Sure, we all have our own utility functions. Now, if you're trying to maximize utility for everyone, that's no easy task, and you'll end up with a relatively small amount of utility.
Would you condone someone for forcing someone else to try chocolate, if that person believed it tasted bad, but loved it as soon as they tried it? If someone mentally deranged set themselves on fire and asked you not...
Well, I am new here, and I suppose it was a slightly presumptive of me to say that. I was just trying to introduce myself with a few of the thoughts I've had while reading here.
To attempt to clarify, I think that this story is rather like the fable of the Dragon-Tyrant. To live a life with even the faintest hint of displeasure is a horrific crime, the thought goes. I am under the impression that most people here operate with some sort of utilitarianist philosophy. This to me seems to imply that unless one declares that there is no objective state for whi...
LessWrong community, I say hello to you at last!
I'm a first year chemical engineering student in Canada. At some point in time I was linked to The AI-Box Experiment by Yudkowsky, probably 3-1/2 years ago. I'm not sure. The earliest record I have, of an old firefox history file, is Wed Jun 25 20:19:56 ADT 2008. I guess that's when I first encountered rationality, though it may have been back when I used IE (shudders). I read a lot of his site, and occasionally visited it and againstbias. I though it was pretty complicated, and that I'd see more of that guy ...
Alright, I finally made an account. Thanks for the push, though this had little to do with why I've joined. I liked the probability parts of the survey, though I know I need to improve my estimates. Political section might be better done with a full-fledged Question section just devoted to it. Perhaps a later survey? I can't wait to see the results.
"Think clearly" seems a reasonable goodbye.