I left out at least one obvious argument for the benefit of commenters.
Religious extremists blowing things up, killing people and trying to destroy the world in general?
I left out at least one obvious argument for the benefit of commenters.
Religious extremists blowing things up, killing people and trying to destroy the world in general?
From Scott Aaronson’s lecture notes:
“Or take another example: a singles bar. The ones who succeed are the ones best able to convince themselves (at least temporarily) of certain falsehoods: “I’m the hottest guy/girl here.” This is a very clear case where irrationality seems to be rational in some sense.”
Waterloo, Ontario.
“Anyone who denies the law of non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until he admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not the same as not to be burned.” —Avicenna, Medieval Philosopher
“People will then often say, ‘But surely it’s better to remain an Agnostic just in case?’ This, to me, suggests such a level of silliness and muddle that I usually edge out of the conversation rather than get sucked into it. (If it turns out that I’ve been wrong all along, and there is in fact a god, and if it further turned out that this kind of legalistic, cross-your-fingers-behind-your-back, Clintonian hair-splitting impressed him, then I think I would choose not to worship him anyway.)” —Douglas Adams
“Science is interesting and if you don’t agree, you can fuck off.”
-- Richard Dawkins quoting a former editor of New Scientist magazine.
Sheldon: “More wrong?” Wrong is an absolute state and not subject to gradation.
Stuart: Of course it is. It’s a little wrong to call a tomato a vegetable; it’s very wrong to say it’s a suspension bridge.
-- The Big Bang Theory
What does one mean when one denies the truth of ~(p^~p)? I would guess the person means that this statement is not always true, and thus there exists a p for which this statement is false. Which would mean that there is a p for which p and ~p are simultaneously true.
Of course this doesn’t mean that the person believes that “to be beaten is the same as not to be beaten”, but it’s an amusing quote.
I don’t eat: All sorts of meat, including seafood.
It’s healthier. Also, eating animals sounds disgusting.
Very very strictly. Never eaten meat in my life.
I might encourage it.
Never tried.
I think my diet gives me complete nutrition.
Don’t care.
Always the same. Since the beginning.
Doesn’t apply.
Nope.
Vladimir_Nesov says it brilliantly. That’s exactly what I felt, and was unable to put down in words eloquently.
Scott Aaronson has a STOC paper on this: http://arxiv.org/abs/cs.CC/0406061
“You are a woman: you must never speak what you think; your words must contradict your thoughts, but your actions may contradict your words.” —William Congreve
“Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them they translate into their own language and forthwith it is something entirely different.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” —Edward Abbey
“If you understand something in only one way, then you do not really understand it at all.” —Marvin Minsky, The Society of Mind
“We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.”
-- H. L. Mencken
Also seconded. Considering Scott’s humorous remark (http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=328) to rename his blog to “Wallowing in Bias” and respond to OB posts!
Would be excellent! I’m sure EY and SA could find a large set of topics on which they disagree.
Excellent post. We need more posts on this topic. The best rationalists I know are single and lonely. They’re holding out for a strong female rationalist, I presume.
Eliezer Yudkowsky can isolate magnetic monopoles; he gives them to small orphan children as birthday presents.
Eliezer Yudkowsky once challenged God to a contest to see who knew the most about physics. Eliezer Yudkowsky won and disproved God.
Eliezer Yudkowsky once checkmated Kasparov in seven moves — while playing Monopoly.
At the age of eight, Eliezer Yudkowsky built a fully functional AGI out of LEGO.
Eliezer Yudkowsky never includes error estimates in his experimental write ups: his results are always exact by definition.
When foxes have a good idea they say it is “as cunning as Eliezer Yudkowsky”.
Apple pays Eliezer Yudkowsky 99 cents every time he listens to a song.
Eliezer Yudkowsky can kill two stones with one bird.
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Eliezer Yudkowsky.
Eliezer Yudkowsky can derive the Axiom of Choice from ZF Set Theory.