I mentioned psychologists in a particular context, namely, how to apply the skills of rationality to the project of nuturing and supporting your friends, lovers and family. Worley and I think rationality can be applied to that project. But I thought just leaving it at that would mislead some of the readers who have not had a lot of practical experience in life: unlike many of the other projects rationality is typically applied to, this project is different in that you cannot just travel to your nearest bookstore and by browsing the shelves expect to find accurate knowledge to help you in this project (again because the true information is mixed with a much larger amount of false and misleading information and it is impractical to decide which is which). This remains true even if your nearest bookstore is in an elite university and full of textbooks.
If Eliezer mentions a book or article in psychology in a positive light, that is strong evidence that that book or article is worth reading. In 2001 I took his the advice on his web site and read Robert Wright’s Moral Animal and “The Psychological Foundations of Culture”, and I am extremely pleased with the outcome.
I mentioned psychologists in a particular context, namely, how to apply the skills of rationality to the project of nuturing and supporting your friends, lovers and family. Worley and I think rationality can be applied to that project. But I thought just leaving it at that would mislead some of the readers who have not had a lot of practical experience in life: unlike many of the other projects rationality is typically applied to, this project is different in that you cannot just travel to your nearest bookstore and by browsing the shelves expect to find accurate knowledge to help you in this project (again because the true information is mixed with a much larger amount of false and misleading information and it is impractical to decide which is which). This remains true even if your nearest bookstore is in an elite university and full of textbooks.
If Eliezer mentions a book or article in psychology in a positive light, that is strong evidence that that book or article is worth reading. In 2001 I took his the advice on his web site and read Robert Wright’s Moral Animal and “The Psychological Foundations of Culture”, and I am extremely pleased with the outcome.