In discussing Newcomb’s problem, Eliezer at one point stated, “Be careful of this sort of argument, any time you find yourself defining the “winner” as someone other than the agent who is currently smiling from on top of a giant heap of utility.”
This aligns well with a New Testament statement from Jesus, “Ye shall know them by their fruits...every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
So, I’m only a novice of the Bayesian Conspiracy, but I can calculate the breast cancer percentages and the red vs blue pearl probabilities. To answer Eliezer’s question, to convince me of the truth of Islam, it would have to show me better outcomes, better fruit, than Christianity, across the board. In many cases its principles don’t conflict with Christianity; but where they do, I would have to establish that resolving the conflict in favor of Islam will lead to better outcomes.
Consider, as just one example, the fruits identified by LW’s own Swimmer963, at http://lesswrong.com/lw/4pg/positive_thinking/
Would following Islam give me a better foundation than that for positive thinking, resilience, motivation for mutual help? Then I would be interested. Not convinced by that alone, but interested.
If Islam consistently offered a more coherent worldview that more effectively helped me to become a better person and achieve my goals, then I would have cause to consider that it might have more truth than what I believe now. As far as I have yet determined, it doesn’t; its teachings seem to be more limited, less useful, than what I already have.
So to be converted to a religion (Islam only being an example here) it would have to provide a better moral and positive emotional framework than Christianity?
Side-note: This is separate to the question above, but on the topic of the post you provided on positive thinking, I think it may have something to do with religion being less common in a trend among those who are both wealthy and in a higher quality of education (i.e. tertiary education has a lower instance of religion than secondary, public has a lower instance of religion than private, CEOs are less religious than white collar workers, etc) along with a number of other factors that I can’t recall, and that these factors do increase tendency towards negative thinking. There is a truth in the stated Christian doctrine (as is shared in Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism and others) that material goods do not bring happiness or ‘salvation’. I personally do not believe, however, that this makes those who are atheists less valid in their beliefs (I would hope so, being an atheist myself).
In discussing Newcomb’s problem, Eliezer at one point stated, “Be careful of this sort of argument, any time you find yourself defining the “winner” as someone other than the agent who is currently smiling from on top of a giant heap of utility.”
This aligns well with a New Testament statement from Jesus, “Ye shall know them by their fruits...every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
So, I’m only a novice of the Bayesian Conspiracy, but I can calculate the breast cancer percentages and the red vs blue pearl probabilities. To answer Eliezer’s question, to convince me of the truth of Islam, it would have to show me better outcomes, better fruit, than Christianity, across the board. In many cases its principles don’t conflict with Christianity; but where they do, I would have to establish that resolving the conflict in favor of Islam will lead to better outcomes.
Consider, as just one example, the fruits identified by LW’s own Swimmer963, at http://lesswrong.com/lw/4pg/positive_thinking/ Would following Islam give me a better foundation than that for positive thinking, resilience, motivation for mutual help? Then I would be interested. Not convinced by that alone, but interested.
If Islam consistently offered a more coherent worldview that more effectively helped me to become a better person and achieve my goals, then I would have cause to consider that it might have more truth than what I believe now. As far as I have yet determined, it doesn’t; its teachings seem to be more limited, less useful, than what I already have.
So to be converted to a religion (Islam only being an example here) it would have to provide a better moral and positive emotional framework than Christianity?
Side-note: This is separate to the question above, but on the topic of the post you provided on positive thinking, I think it may have something to do with religion being less common in a trend among those who are both wealthy and in a higher quality of education (i.e. tertiary education has a lower instance of religion than secondary, public has a lower instance of religion than private, CEOs are less religious than white collar workers, etc) along with a number of other factors that I can’t recall, and that these factors do increase tendency towards negative thinking. There is a truth in the stated Christian doctrine (as is shared in Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism and others) that material goods do not bring happiness or ‘salvation’. I personally do not believe, however, that this makes those who are atheists less valid in their beliefs (I would hope so, being an atheist myself).