I liked that you tried to systematically break down how this works exactly, but considering how wrong our intuitions about the thinking we do on very short time scales is (like how some part of me decides to move before my conscious mind is aware of it, yet it sure feels like I’ve consciously decided to do so), I’m not sure how useful such introspection is.
Self-experimentation with some exterior criteria by which evaluating your performance or at least something outside of easily corruptible human memories recording what is going on might be better.
Scientific studies directed into testing such techniques would obviously be even better. Perhaps some that are relevant exist. Perhaps they don’t. Too bad we don’t have an Institute of Applied Rationality (acronym comes out awkward, heh) that could do rigorous psychological testing for such things. Or at least get a few random LW people to under supervised conditions try out stuff like this.
Some effort towards empiricism is I think better than none. The VoI might however not high enough for this to be a good idea (irony).
I liked that you tried to systematically break down how this works exactly, but considering how wrong our intuitions about the thinking we do on very short time scales is (like how some part of me decides to move before my conscious mind is aware of it, yet it sure feels like I’ve consciously decided to do so), I’m not sure how useful such introspection is.
Self-experimentation with some exterior criteria by which evaluating your performance or at least something outside of easily corruptible human memories recording what is going on might be better.
Scientific studies directed into testing such techniques would obviously be even better. Perhaps some that are relevant exist. Perhaps they don’t. Too bad we don’t have an Institute of Applied Rationality (acronym comes out awkward, heh) that could do rigorous psychological testing for such things. Or at least get a few random LW people to under supervised conditions try out stuff like this.
Some effort towards empiricism is I think better than none. The VoI might however not high enough for this to be a good idea (irony).