This discussion is difficult to jump into (and make any progress with) because the questions are so complex. Is there some way to back up and formalize what we’re discussing? What is the main question? I suppose it’s whether “success” and “rationality” correlate historically, among humans.
How would we define success? If success means ‘achieving goals’, then we can notice that we don’t mean rationality as ‘achieving goals’ but as something more focused, like rationality as good reality mapping.
And then I will say that my experience is that human success is not at all correlated with good maps: while good maps and motivation will lead to achieving goals, it seems many people are successful despite bad maps.
An argument can be made that very successful people are likely to have extremely bad maps precisely in the area around their success. Hitler, Napoleon, mad scientists, mathematicians that can’t distinguish formulas from furniture, politicians that people relate to but which are themselves impervious to criticism and self-awareness, surgeons that are actually misanthropic, etc., etc. I think it might have to do with obsession, which leads to uncanny expertise in the area of the obsession despite all wrong supporting ideas.
This discussion is difficult to jump into (and make any progress with) because the questions are so complex. Is there some way to back up and formalize what we’re discussing? What is the main question? I suppose it’s whether “success” and “rationality” correlate historically, among humans.
How would we define success? If success means ‘achieving goals’, then we can notice that we don’t mean rationality as ‘achieving goals’ but as something more focused, like rationality as good reality mapping.
And then I will say that my experience is that human success is not at all correlated with good maps: while good maps and motivation will lead to achieving goals, it seems many people are successful despite bad maps.
An argument can be made that very successful people are likely to have extremely bad maps precisely in the area around their success. Hitler, Napoleon, mad scientists, mathematicians that can’t distinguish formulas from furniture, politicians that people relate to but which are themselves impervious to criticism and self-awareness, surgeons that are actually misanthropic, etc., etc. I think it might have to do with obsession, which leads to uncanny expertise in the area of the obsession despite all wrong supporting ideas.