I do not think rationalists are duped more easily than normies that never heard about Less Wrong, but people who claim to be the smartest people in the world should be held to higher standard, and claim that studying their super special sequences will make anyone as smart as they are should be put to close scrutiny.
If you are boasting you are Airborne Navy Seal Ranger specially trained in gorilla warfare, and get your ass regularly kicked by ordinary drunks in bar fights, people would be justified doubting the value of super secret martial arts training you offer.
I guess it hasn't made me "successful", but I do think I live a happier and more fulfilling life because of the rationalist literature. Having the tools to make the world make sense is a value in itself.
Having the tools to make the world make sense is a value in itself
Exactly. "I notice I am confused" is a damn superpower.
Before, I used to observe stuff that didn't make sense, think "Huh. That was weird," and then go on about my day.
Now I actually interrogate the phenomena until it makes sense.
If you see a coin that turns up heads 100 times in a row, your first step should really be "Let me see that fucking coin" and not "wow, what a crazy random happenstance." Hell, if you see a coin that shows heads 99 times then tails on the 100th, you should DEFINITELY demand to examine said coin.
Although this has ruined the entire concept of magic performances for me.
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Notes -
I do not think rationalists are duped more easily than normies that never heard about Less Wrong, but people who claim to be the smartest people in the world should be held to higher standard, and claim that studying their super special sequences will make anyone as smart as they are should be put to close scrutiny.
If you are boasting you are Airborne Navy Seal Ranger specially trained in gorilla warfare, and get your ass regularly kicked by ordinary drunks in bar fights, people would be justified doubting the value of super secret martial arts training you offer.
Obligatory link:
Where are All the Successful Rationalists?
Where are all the former losers who read the sequences, pulled themselves by their bootstraps and became brilliant winners?
I guess it hasn't made me "successful", but I do think I live a happier and more fulfilling life because of the rationalist literature. Having the tools to make the world make sense is a value in itself.
Exactly. "I notice I am confused" is a damn superpower.
Before, I used to observe stuff that didn't make sense, think "Huh. That was weird," and then go on about my day.
Now I actually interrogate the phenomena until it makes sense.
If you see a coin that turns up heads 100 times in a row, your first step should really be "Let me see that fucking coin" and not "wow, what a crazy random happenstance." Hell, if you see a coin that shows heads 99 times then tails on the 100th, you should DEFINITELY demand to examine said coin.
Although this has ruined the entire concept of magic performances for me.
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