My two cents is that rationality is not about being systematically correct, it’s about being systematically less wrong. If there is some method you know of that is systematically less wrong than you and you’re skilled enough to apply it, you’re being irrational. There are some things you just can’t predict, but when you can predict them, rationality is the art of choosing to do so.
Practically, I’m at a similarish place as other LessWrong users, so I usually think about “how can I be even LessWrong than the other users (such as Raemon 😉)”. My fellow users are a good approximation to counter-factual versions of me. It’s similar to how in martial arts the practitioners try to get stronger than each other.
(This of course is only subject to mild optimization so I don’t get nonsense solutions like “distract Raemon with funny cat videos”. It is only an instrumental value which must not be pressed too far. In fact, other people getting more rational is a good thing because it raises the target I should reach!)
My two cents is that rationality is not about being systematically correct, it’s about being systematically less wrong. If there is some method you know of that is systematically less wrong than you and you’re skilled enough to apply it, you’re being irrational. There are some things you just can’t predict, but when you can predict them, rationality is the art of choosing to do so.
This feels incomplete to. me, but does feel like it’s getting at something interesting and maybe practical.
Practically, I’m at a similarish place as other LessWrong users, so I usually think about “how can I be even LessWrong than the other users (such as Raemon 😉)”. My fellow users are a good approximation to counter-factual versions of me. It’s similar to how in martial arts the practitioners try to get stronger than each other.
(This of course is only subject to mild optimization so I don’t get nonsense solutions like “distract Raemon with funny cat videos”. It is only an instrumental value which must not be pressed too far. In fact, other people getting more rational is a good thing because it raises the target I should reach!)