> I am the
> Iconoclast of
> > > the Better Way.
> >
> > Perhaps, Eliezer, you have not yet fully outgrown your
> religious roots ;>
>
> What on Earth is that comment supposed to be about?
About the implicit assumption that in the default case, there is *a* better
way rather than being a multiplicity of ways each with their own advantages
and disadvantages...
One true God, one true keyboard layout... one true path to AI ... you've
given up the God but not the "one true" ;p
> I would offer the following test for whether you are an Iconoclast of the
> Better Way:
>
> 1) Do you vote for the same political party your parents did? Are you
> aware that 95% of the variance in political preferences is accounted for
> by reference to parental preferences? Isn't that pathetic?
The thing is that there is just not enough objective data to choose between
two political parties as similar as the ones we have in the US. So the
choice largely comes down to bias, or habit.
> 2) Do you have the same religion you were brought up in? They can't all
> be right, can they? Would that strategy really work if everyone used it?
In a sense, religions can all be right. I'm not religious as you know. But
the benefits conferred on people by believing in religion may be largely
independent of the particular religion in question.
Nietzsche said "People believe what they need to believe in order to
survive."
> 3) WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU USING A DVORAK KEYBOARD? Did you even TRY
> it? Just once in your life? Doesn't continuing to use Qwerty indicate
> that sheer mental inertia is just about the only driving factor in your
> life?
Frankly, no. Sheer mental inertia is not just about the only driving factor
in my life.
There are also the ever-present cravings for sex, food, and water.
-- ben
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 10:00:04 MDT