it’s more like you’re asking “what car is best for driving to the moon” and then rejecting any replies that talk about rockets, since that’s not an answer to the actual question you asked. It could even be that the advice about building rockets is entirely useless to you, if you’re in a situation where you can’t go on a rocket for whatever reason, and they need to introduce you to the idea of space elevators or something,
Wow… that may just be the most apt analogy I’ve ever heard anyone make about this. I’m having a “whoa” moment here.
’kay. So, my first thought is, how does my actual goal fit into the analogy? If my terminal goal fits as finding the right car then the problem lies in everyone hearing a different question than the one asked. If, on the other hand, my terminal goal fits into the analogy as getting to the moon then the problem is a gap of understanding that causes me to persist with the wrong question. Which sounds like exactly the sort of flaw-in-thinking that I was talking about in the first place!
I am vaguely disturbed that I don’t actually know which part of the analogy my terminal goal fits into. It seems like its something I should know. I would guess it is the latter, though, due to there actually being a cognitive flaw that remains elusive.
It could be that you want both. Human values do tend to be complex, after all. (Also, I’d map ‘wanting the best possible mind’ to ‘wanting the best car’, and ‘wanting to get your life moving in a good direction’ as ‘wanting to go to the moon’, if that was a source of confusion.)
Getting to the moon (ie. getting your life moving) is quite clearly one of your terminal goals.
Whether or not you’ve enshrined the car (ie. a general solution) as a newer terminal goal, I can’t tell you.
A hint however: The car may not take the form you expect. It may be a taxi, or a bus, where you don’t own it but rather ride in it. (ie. the best general solution for you might actually be “go on the internet and look for a specific solution”)
Wow… that may just be the most apt analogy I’ve ever heard anyone make about this. I’m having a “whoa” moment here.
’kay. So, my first thought is, how does my actual goal fit into the analogy? If my terminal goal fits as finding the right car then the problem lies in everyone hearing a different question than the one asked. If, on the other hand, my terminal goal fits into the analogy as getting to the moon then the problem is a gap of understanding that causes me to persist with the wrong question. Which sounds like exactly the sort of flaw-in-thinking that I was talking about in the first place!
I am vaguely disturbed that I don’t actually know which part of the analogy my terminal goal fits into. It seems like its something I should know. I would guess it is the latter, though, due to there actually being a cognitive flaw that remains elusive.
It could be that you want both. Human values do tend to be complex, after all. (Also, I’d map ‘wanting the best possible mind’ to ‘wanting the best car’, and ‘wanting to get your life moving in a good direction’ as ‘wanting to go to the moon’, if that was a source of confusion.)
Getting to the moon (ie. getting your life moving) is quite clearly one of your terminal goals.
Whether or not you’ve enshrined the car (ie. a general solution) as a newer terminal goal, I can’t tell you.
A hint however: The car may not take the form you expect. It may be a taxi, or a bus, where you don’t own it but rather ride in it. (ie. the best general solution for you might actually be “go on the internet and look for a specific solution”)