I’ve posted a few rationality quotes, so it sounds like time to introduce myself. I’m a 22 year old software project manager from Wisconsin, been reading LW since June or so when MOR was really going strong.
I’ve been a very rational thinker for my whole life, in terms of explicitly looking for evidence/feedback and updating behaviors and beliefs, but only began thinking about it formally recently. I was raised Christian, and I consider my current state the result of a slow process of resolving dissonance based on contradictions or insufficient/contrary evidence. I’m most interested in theory of government and achieving best results given the rather unreliable ability of voters to predict or understand outcomes of different policies.
I also think, though, that ethics is just as important as rationality- choosing the correct goals is just as necessary as succeeding towards those goals. I’ve seen appreciation of this within LW that, for me, really sets it apart, so I hope I can make a larger contribution. As someone once said, the choice between Good and Evil is not about saying one or the other, but about deciding which is which.
-HL Menken