I’ve recently started a tumblr dedicated to teaching people what amounts to Rationality 101. This post isn’t about advertising that blog, since the sort of people that actually read Less Wrong are unlikely to be the target audience. Rather, I’d like to ask the community for input on what are the most important concepts I could put on that blog.
(For those that would like to follow this endeavor, but don’t like tumblr, I’ve got a parallel blog on wordpress)
Excercises in small rational behaviours. E.g. people genrally are very reluctant to apologize about anything, even if the case means little to them and a lot to the other person. Maybe it’s “if I apologize, that will mean I was a bad person in the first place” thinking, maybe something else.
It’s a nice excercise: if somebody seems to want something from you or apparently is angry with you when you did nothing wrong, stop for a moment and think: how much will it cost me to just say “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you”. After all, those are just words. You don’t have to “win” every confrontation and convince the other person you are right and their requirements are ridiculus. And if you apologize, in fact you both will have a better day—the other person will feel appreciated and you will be proud you did something right.
(A common situation from my experience is that somebody pushes me in a queue, I say “excuse me, but please don’t stand so close to me/don’t look over my arm when I’m writing the PIN code etc.” and then the pusher often starts arguing how my behaviour is out of line—making both of us and the cashier upset)
Come to think of it, it’s a lot like Quirrell’s second lesson in HPMoR...
Noticing confusion is the first skill I tried to train up last year, and is definitely a big one, because knowing what your models predict and noticing when they fail is a very valuable feedback loop that prevents you from learning if you can’t even notice it.
Picturing what sort of evidence would unconvince you of something you actively believe is a good exercise to pair with the exercise of picturing what sort of evidence would convince you of something that seems super unlikely. Noticing unfairness there is a big one.
Realizing when you are trying to “win” at truthfinding, which is… ugh.
I’ve recently started a tumblr dedicated to teaching people what amounts to Rationality 101. This post isn’t about advertising that blog, since the sort of people that actually read Less Wrong are unlikely to be the target audience. Rather, I’d like to ask the community for input on what are the most important concepts I could put on that blog.
(For those that would like to follow this endeavor, but don’t like tumblr, I’ve got a parallel blog on wordpress)
Admitting you are wrong.
Highly related: When you even might be wrong, get curious about that possibility rather than scared of it.
Excercises in small rational behaviours. E.g. people genrally are very reluctant to apologize about anything, even if the case means little to them and a lot to the other person. Maybe it’s “if I apologize, that will mean I was a bad person in the first place” thinking, maybe something else.
It’s a nice excercise: if somebody seems to want something from you or apparently is angry with you when you did nothing wrong, stop for a moment and think: how much will it cost me to just say “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you”. After all, those are just words. You don’t have to “win” every confrontation and convince the other person you are right and their requirements are ridiculus. And if you apologize, in fact you both will have a better day—the other person will feel appreciated and you will be proud you did something right.
(A common situation from my experience is that somebody pushes me in a queue, I say “excuse me, but please don’t stand so close to me/don’t look over my arm when I’m writing the PIN code etc.” and then the pusher often starts arguing how my behaviour is out of line—making both of us and the cashier upset)
Come to think of it, it’s a lot like Quirrell’s second lesson in HPMoR...
Noticing confusion is the first skill I tried to train up last year, and is definitely a big one, because knowing what your models predict and noticing when they fail is a very valuable feedback loop that prevents you from learning if you can’t even notice it.
Picturing what sort of evidence would unconvince you of something you actively believe is a good exercise to pair with the exercise of picturing what sort of evidence would convince you of something that seems super unlikely. Noticing unfairness there is a big one.
Realizing when you are trying to “win” at truthfinding, which is… ugh.
Taking stock of what information you have, and what might be good sources for information, well in advance of making a decision.
Map and territory—why is rationality important in the first place?