I think part of the “trick” is that you distract yourself at the same time—the way to not think of a pink elephant is to concentrate on something else.
This strikes me as right. Rationalists train ourselves not to reflexively avoid thoughts, which is the skill at work here. Effective deception requires selectively ignoring truth.
I think part of the “trick” is that you distract yourself at the same time—the way to not think of a pink elephant is to concentrate on something else.
This strikes me as right. Rationalists train ourselves not to reflexively avoid thoughts, which is the skill at work here. Effective deception requires selectively ignoring truth.