I’ve learned to recognize confused questions, and avoid wasting time answering them on their own terms when the proper response is to simply dissolve them. Considering this motivated me to drop a second major in philosophy which I was originally motivated to pursue because I enjoyed messing around with those confused questions, this has saved me quite a bit of time and effort.
I’ve greatly refined my ability to update on evidence and actually change my mind. Some of these beliefs have little payoff in terms of behavior, but occasionally it allows me to correct for fairly harmful mistakes.
Like Anna Salamon, my social skills have benefited.
I trust my explicit reasoning. I am able to agree or disagree with arguments separate from their conclusions. When I follow an argument, I can pinpoint if and where it contains elements I disagree with. I do not reach the end of arguments without spotting flaws in them and find myself disagreeing with the conclusions for reasons I cannot articulate. I am also prepared to spot and call out flaws in arguments whose conclusions I agree with, rather than treating them as soldiers on my side.
Although I consider myself to still be a novice in this ability, I have at least begun to be able to analyze the true motivations behind my actions, and what I want to want, and make efforts to shape my behavior with that knowledge.
I have to confess that I’ve learned very little of my core skills in rationality by reading and participating in Less Wrong though.
I’ve learned to recognize confused questions, and avoid wasting time answering them on their own terms when the proper response is to simply dissolve them. Considering this motivated me to drop a second major in philosophy which I was originally motivated to pursue because I enjoyed messing around with those confused questions, this has saved me quite a bit of time and effort.
I’ve greatly refined my ability to update on evidence and actually change my mind. Some of these beliefs have little payoff in terms of behavior, but occasionally it allows me to correct for fairly harmful mistakes.
Like Anna Salamon, my social skills have benefited.
I trust my explicit reasoning. I am able to agree or disagree with arguments separate from their conclusions. When I follow an argument, I can pinpoint if and where it contains elements I disagree with. I do not reach the end of arguments without spotting flaws in them and find myself disagreeing with the conclusions for reasons I cannot articulate. I am also prepared to spot and call out flaws in arguments whose conclusions I agree with, rather than treating them as soldiers on my side.
Although I consider myself to still be a novice in this ability, I have at least begun to be able to analyze the true motivations behind my actions, and what I want to want, and make efforts to shape my behavior with that knowledge.
I have to confess that I’ve learned very little of my core skills in rationality by reading and participating in Less Wrong though.