I really enjoyed re-reading this post because it contains a sort of exhibition of several rationalist skills. Namely, Eliezer emphasizes that the explanation of a thing should make that thing less mysterious, should provide some increased insight into its inner workings; that simpler theories are more likely to be correct than complex ones, and why; that reductionism as a habit of thought leads to fewer instances of cognitively painting oneself into a corner; that being unable to easily spot the flaw in an argument doesn’t say much about whether the argument is flawed; that introspection alone is not a reliable means of obtaining universal truth; I could keep going.
I really enjoyed re-reading this post because it contains a sort of exhibition of several rationalist skills. Namely, Eliezer emphasizes that the explanation of a thing should make that thing less mysterious, should provide some increased insight into its inner workings; that simpler theories are more likely to be correct than complex ones, and why; that reductionism as a habit of thought leads to fewer instances of cognitively painting oneself into a corner; that being unable to easily spot the flaw in an argument doesn’t say much about whether the argument is flawed; that introspection alone is not a reliable means of obtaining universal truth; I could keep going.