This needs to be on posters and T-shirts if it isn’t already. Is it a well-known principle?
Sadly not. I keep meaning to post an article about this, but it’s really hard to write an article about a complex subject in such a way that people really get it (especially if the reader has little patience/charity), so I keep putting it off until I have the time to make it perfect. I have some time this weekend though, so maybe...
I think the Fundamental Optimization Problem is the biggest problem humanity has right now and it explains everything that’s wrong with society: It represents the fact that doing what’s good will always feel less good than doing what feels good, people who optimize for altruism will always be seen as more selfish than people who optimize for being seen as altruistic, the people who get in power will always be the ones whose skills are optimized for getting in power and not for knowing what to do once they get there, and people who yell about truth the most are the biggest liars. It’s also why “no good deed goes unpunished”. Despite what Yoda claims, the dark side really is stronger.
Unfortunately there’s no good post about this on LW AFAIK, but Yvain’s post about Moloch is related and is really good (and really long).
Also thanks for the music video. Shame I can’t upvote you multiple times.
Sadly not. I keep meaning to post an article about this, but it’s really hard to write an article about a complex subject in such a way that people really get it (especially if the reader has little patience/charity), so I keep putting it off until I have the time to make it perfect. I have some time this weekend though, so maybe...
I think the Fundamental Optimization Problem is the biggest problem humanity has right now and it explains everything that’s wrong with society: It represents the fact that doing what’s good will always feel less good than doing what feels good, people who optimize for altruism will always be seen as more selfish than people who optimize for being seen as altruistic, the people who get in power will always be the ones whose skills are optimized for getting in power and not for knowing what to do once they get there, and people who yell about truth the most are the biggest liars. It’s also why “no good deed goes unpunished”. Despite what Yoda claims, the dark side really is stronger.
Unfortunately there’s no good post about this on LW AFAIK, but Yvain’s post about Moloch is related and is really good (and really long).
Aww shucks. ^_^