I resisted using the word “rationalist” for a long time. But after posting lots of writing on Less Wrong I eventually needed a shorthand to explain what I’m doing to outsiders. Saying “I write on Less Wrong” doesn’t mean anything to someone who doesn’t know what Less Wrong is.
Anyone with a classical liberal education knows what rationalism is. It refers to the Enlightenment philosophers who felt that reason, as opposed to divine providence, was the chief source of knowledge.
Did rationalists differ from empiricists on the importance of data? Maybe but that isn’t important. The early Enlightenment philosophers were frequently wrong. I like the perspective of historical hindsight. It is a warning not to get too confident. Rationalism is watching slave ships from West Africa come into port, looking up at the stars and figuring out how to make a better world. With centuries of hindsight, what jumps into someone’s mind when you say “Rationalist” is the Enlightenment—a clash between science and the establishment. A collision between high ideals and muddy reality. Using an old name reminds us science is a centuries-long project.
I resisted using the word “community” for a long time too. The word “community” is overused by commercial interests attempting to manipulate people. But during over the COVID lockdown of this last year I’ve made more friends on Less Wrong than in meatspace. And the friends I’ve made are really valuable. Talking to quants I met on Less Wrong was the first time I’ve ever felt like I didn’t have to dumb down my ideas about computer science. I get better job offers here than I get at networking events.
So yeah, I’m part of the rationalist community.
Metacognitive Movement
There are two things I don’t like about “metacognitive movement”: the word “metacognitive” and the word “movement”.
The problem with “metacognitive” is it lacks the historical context of the word “rationalist”. “Rationalist” triggers the image of starry-eyed idealists living in a barbarous world. Metacognitive triggers the image of a yogi on a mountaintop or an academic in an ivory tower. I prefer the former. I’d rather be a rat than a cog.
The problem with “movement” is that Rationalism isn’t a movement. A movement is “group of people with a common ideology, esp a political or religious one” or “the organized action of such a group”. Less Wrong doesn’t have a common ideology. I don’t want it to have one. All ideologies are wrong in some way. Ideologies suppress dissent. Suppressing dissent, when you’re wrong, obstructs the pursuit of truth. Become less wrong is the opposite of following an ideology.
Are we a metacognitive movement? I don’t think so. Making a vaccine isn’t about cognition. It’s about action. Are we a movement? If we are then I ought to be kicked out because I frequently disagree with the prevailing ideology.
I resisted using the word “rationalist” for a long time. But after posting lots of writing on Less Wrong I eventually needed a shorthand to explain what I’m doing to outsiders. Saying “I write on Less Wrong” doesn’t mean anything to someone who doesn’t know what Less Wrong is.
Anyone with a classical liberal education knows what rationalism is. It refers to the Enlightenment philosophers who felt that reason, as opposed to divine providence, was the chief source of knowledge.
Did rationalists differ from empiricists on the importance of data? Maybe but that isn’t important. The early Enlightenment philosophers were frequently wrong. I like the perspective of historical hindsight. It is a warning not to get too confident. Rationalism is watching slave ships from West Africa come into port, looking up at the stars and figuring out how to make a better world. With centuries of hindsight, what jumps into someone’s mind when you say “Rationalist” is the Enlightenment—a clash between science and the establishment. A collision between high ideals and muddy reality. Using an old name reminds us science is a centuries-long project.
I resisted using the word “community” for a long time too. The word “community” is overused by commercial interests attempting to manipulate people. But during over the COVID lockdown of this last year I’ve made more friends on Less Wrong than in meatspace. And the friends I’ve made are really valuable. Talking to quants I met on Less Wrong was the first time I’ve ever felt like I didn’t have to dumb down my ideas about computer science. I get better job offers here than I get at networking events.
So yeah, I’m part of the rationalist community.
Metacognitive Movement
There are two things I don’t like about “metacognitive movement”: the word “metacognitive” and the word “movement”.
The problem with “metacognitive” is it lacks the historical context of the word “rationalist”. “Rationalist” triggers the image of starry-eyed idealists living in a barbarous world. Metacognitive triggers the image of a yogi on a mountaintop or an academic in an ivory tower. I prefer the former. I’d rather be a rat than a cog.
The problem with “movement” is that Rationalism isn’t a movement. A movement is “group of people with a common ideology, esp a political or religious one” or “the organized action of such a group”. Less Wrong doesn’t have a common ideology. I don’t want it to have one. All ideologies are wrong in some way. Ideologies suppress dissent. Suppressing dissent, when you’re wrong, obstructs the pursuit of truth. Become less wrong is the opposite of following an ideology.
Are we a metacognitive movement? I don’t think so. Making a vaccine isn’t about cognition. It’s about action. Are we a movement? If we are then I ought to be kicked out because I frequently disagree with the prevailing ideology.