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I have been heavily influenced by lesswrong. After the initial stage of encorporating the rationality identity and arguing about everything with everyone, I tri
by afiodorov 6y ago
I have been heavily influenced by lesswrong. After the initial stage of encorporating the rationality identity and arguing about everything with everyone, I tried becoming more of an applied rationalist when I realised the first approch isn't leading me to winning anything. Shortly after I read: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZbgCx2ntD5eu8Cno9/how-to-be-happy https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZbgCx2ntD5eu8Cno9/how-to-be-...
I made a series of life changes. I can't attribute the blog post alone to these changes, but it was something that pushed me towards a more meaningful life. I stopped spending money on things and started buying experiences more often. I bought a bycicle (a thing but gives you many experiences) and started cycling to/from work in an effort to a) exercise b) spend more time outside. I broke up with my girlfriend of 9 years because I figured it just wasn't making me any happier. Cycling in London, UK for years made me very satisfied but I also got tired of the climate and I ended up finding a remote role and relocating to a climate where I can be outside every day. Finally I have started strength training - and now I am in a much better shape after doing it on a regular basis for a few years. It's hard to say that I am happier exactly, but there is a sense of liberty I feel that is hard to describe. The life I am living feels like my own, I feel the sense of control and I am liberated. I would like to think many of these things count as "winning".
- TameAntelope 6y agoI've treated lesswrong as a way to still make terrible choices, just by expressing bias in more complex thinking, which hides it better and makes us feel batter when we still experience the same outcomes.
- chordalkeyboard 6y agohow would you judge the choices you have made? what would be a better choice, and how would you know it was better?
- TameAntelope 6y agoPoorly, because hindsight is hard, I just would skip the steps related to hiding my biases behind overly precise numbers.
- chordalkeyboard 6y ago"poorly" and "bad" related to what? what measure are we using to evaluate these outcomes? Whats the magical thing that we use to tell whether "rationality" is bad at achieving "it"?
- TameAntelope 6y agoPoorly and bad refer to the inability to accurately assess outcomes objectively and accurately in a way that identifies predictors for future outcomes. In other words, the techniques praised in lesswrong writings dress up what is effectively bias shuffling, which results in the same problem of being unable to assess the predictors of outcomes, just now better hidden behind falsely confident figures instead of admission of uncertainty.
- chordalkeyboard 6y ago> Poorly and bad refer to the inability to accurately assess outcomes objectively and accurately in a way that identifies predictors for future outcomes. So at some point you were able to assess outcomes objectively and update your perceptions? What would you call that process? > In other words, the techniques praised in lesswrong writings dress up what is effectively bias shuffling, which results in the same problem of being unable to assess the predictors of outcomes, just now better hidden behind falsely confident figures instead of admission of uncertainty. I’m asking how you can identify a truth-finding process that is not bias shuffling and what you would call it (since “rational” is now taboo).
- TameAntelope 6y agoYou're barking up the wrong tree. I offer no solutions, I only spot plenty of problems with what lesswrong tries to sell as one.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- andrewem 6y agoYou say "I broke up with my girlfriend of 9 years because I figured it just wasn't making me any happier." Now do you think that was a wise decision? (It's also hard to tell what subtle distinction the verb "figured" is meant to convey in your sentence, if any, beyond say a neutral verb like "concluded".)