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I think people who are too in love with their own rationality leave themselves vulnerable to some pretty ridiculous beliefs that common sense would normally gua
by bigbubba 6y ago
I think people who are too in love with their own rationality leave themselves vulnerable to some pretty ridiculous beliefs that common sense would normally guard them against. A suspension of common sense is certainly important sometimes, because common sense can lead you astray, but at other times it will save you a lot of time and mental energy. A classic example from antiquity is Zeno's paradoxes of motion. It was not immediately clear to people trying to rationalize about these 'paradoxes' how they could be resolved. But somebody who is slightly less in love with their own rationality, who trusts their own common sense, would not waste their time wondering about a supposed paradox that can be refuted by standing up and walking around the room. Failing to balance rationalism with common sense can get you stuck in solipsist traps or worse.
- andrepd 6y agoI think the point with Zeno's paradox is less "motion can't happen" and "obviously this is wrong, so where is my mistake?" Turns out the answer is math ;) more specifically stuff which didn't exist back then.
- bigbubba 6y agoI'll rephrase my point then; I think Less Wrong people spend a lot of time trying to figure out how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Or: They should stop sniffing their own farts, pull their heads out of the clouds, try not to get lost up their own asses, etc. Anyway, according to Wikipedia: "Some mathematicians and historians, such as Carl Boyer, hold that Zeno's paradoxes are simply mathematical problems, for which modern calculus provides a mathematical solution.[6] Some philosophers, however, say that Zeno's paradoxes and their variations (see Thomson's lamp) remain relevant metaphysical problems.[7][8][9]" So it seems like a few people are still wasting their time with this.