From: Robin Hanson (rhanson@gmu.edu)
Date: Wed Jun 18 2003 - 09:28:37 MDT
At 11:01 AM 6/18/2003 -0400, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
>>Sure there is only one total explanation, but are you Eliezer S.
>>Yudkowsky going to discover all of its parts by yourself and then reveal
>>them all to the world in one grand revelation? We are rich, in knowledge
>>as in other things, because of a division of labor. You need to work
>>with many other people to discover the one true explanation. So you need
>>to find a place within this division of labor where others can appreciate
>>your contributions and you can appreciate theirs. ...
>
>... whether many people or a few people are working out their areas of the
>One Explanation, my point is that I would not strive for modularity in my
>maps unless I thought that reality itself was modular with respect to the
>thing I was mapping. This idea of building a philosophy that is modular,
>where you can stand regardless of who else falls... it may help on public
>relations but how can it possibly be *right*? Isn't this a sign that one
>has fallen into "mere philosophizing", unconnected from the rest of the
>universe? ... When I am *designing* something, then yes, I will try and
>make the design modular because that is a good heuristic for humans to
>use. When I am trying to *discover* something I will not try to make the
>*explanation* modular unless I think the *reality* is modular ...
A *contribution* to knowledge does not equal an *explanation*. If you are
studying field B that depends on field A, and you happen to believe A2
while most people believe A1, it is not enough for you to show that A2
leads to B2; you should also show what A1 leads to. If A1 leads to B1, you
should say so. You are not saying anything false or misleading by doing
this. You are allowing progress and the division of labor to continue
without requiring that everyone agree with you on everything.
Robin Hanson rhanson@gmu.edu http://hanson.gmu.edu
Assistant Professor of Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030-4444
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
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