I have dutifully gone through the entire sequence again, enjoying some cute stories along the way, and my best guess of what EY means is that it is relevant not in any direct sense (“QM is what rationality is built on”), but more as a teaching tool: it brings “traditional Science” in conflict with “Bayesian rationality”. (The Bayesianism wins, of course!) The MWI also lends some support to the EY’s preferred model, Barbour’s timeless physics, and thus inspires the TDT.
What reversal? I still think that it detracts from the overall presentation of “modern rationality” by getting people sidetracked into learning open problems in physics at a pop-sci level. Whatever points EY was trying to make there can surely be made better without it.
I meant where you said “not relevant” and Eliezer responded with “highly relevant”. It sounds to me as though he thinks it’s fundamental to rationality or something. Very confusing.
I have dutifully gone through the entire sequence again, enjoying some cute stories along the way, and my best guess of what EY means is that it is relevant not in any direct sense (“QM is what rationality is built on”), but more as a teaching tool: it brings “traditional Science” in conflict with “Bayesian rationality”. (The Bayesianism wins, of course!) The MWI also lends some support to the EY’s preferred model, Barbour’s timeless physics, and thus inspires the TDT.
That still doesn’t seem like enough to justify the reversal from “not relevant” to “highly relevant”.
What reversal? I still think that it detracts from the overall presentation of “modern rationality” by getting people sidetracked into learning open problems in physics at a pop-sci level. Whatever points EY was trying to make there can surely be made better without it.
I meant where you said “not relevant” and Eliezer responded with “highly relevant”. It sounds to me as though he thinks it’s fundamental to rationality or something. Very confusing.