Since both gwern and wedrifed thought I was asking for reassurance
No I didn’t—and I gave neither reassurance nor the the reverse. I questioned and attempted to correct emphasis on finding Algernon based ‘research’. We don’t have anything of the sort when it comes to specific techniques like this, such research would be difficult to the point of implausibility and not of much practical benefit if we had it. It would satisfy our historic curiosity but little more. Research on the actual effects of the technique on humans screens off questions of why our brains don’t have equivalent methods in place.
My apologies for misreading. Yes, Algernon’s Law motivates the research (in addition to “my brain is important and this is weird,” and other motivations); but research shouldn’t be focused on whether the mechanisms were available in the EEA unless that evidential node is among the low-hanging fruit, as far as ease of research and large likelihood ratios go.
No I didn’t—and I gave neither reassurance nor the the reverse. I questioned and attempted to correct emphasis on finding Algernon based ‘research’. We don’t have anything of the sort when it comes to specific techniques like this, such research would be difficult to the point of implausibility and not of much practical benefit if we had it. It would satisfy our historic curiosity but little more. Research on the actual effects of the technique on humans screens off questions of why our brains don’t have equivalent methods in place.
My apologies for misreading. Yes, Algernon’s Law motivates the research (in addition to “my brain is important and this is weird,” and other motivations); but research shouldn’t be focused on whether the mechanisms were available in the EEA unless that evidential node is among the low-hanging fruit, as far as ease of research and large likelihood ratios go.