The idea of Time itself designating some people and events as Important and composing vague poetry about them is incompatible with a universe that runs on simple physical laws and is obviously nonsense.
What makes you so sure the HPMoR universe is reductionist and/or runs on simple physical laws?
HPMoR is a rationalist story, not necessary a reductionist story. A true rationalist must be willing to update against even reductionism, if the evidence leads there.
It’s the fundamental simplicity and regularity of the universe that allows the basic tools of rationality to work at all. Reality is laced together too tightly to permit a world where ‘muggle science’ can function but Occam’s Razor isn’t reliable. Eliezer couldn’t teach his brand of rationality with a universe that ran on genre tropes instead of particle physics.
ETA: Okay, he could try, but it would be a mistake. And I know that he knows this, because I learned it from him.
Eliezer couldn’t teach his brand of rationality with a universe that ran on genre tropes instead of particle physics.
Well, to some extent yeah, I guess. If SPHEW’s plan to tie up Harry and drag him alongside as a bait to “Adventures” had worked, then Hermione giving up on reason might have had merit.
But that (genre tropes vs particle physics) is a rather false dichotomy. I can imagine a fictional universe which designates pieces of knowledge as fundamental entities, and can therefore designate “importance” on events, based on how many people will come to know of them, and can throw back pieces of knowledge through Seers.
It’s not our universe, but that would still be a universe one could attempt to sensibly reason about—and I think that’s the sort of different universe that Eliezer would find fun to write about.
Alright then. I don’t understand how your non-reductionist universe works at all—how do the ideas interact with the people? Are the people made of anything? - and I don’t believe that the person who wrote this
People who live in reductionist universes cannot concretely envision non-reductionist universes. They can pronounce the syllables “non-reductionist” but they can’t imagine it.
would set a story intended to teach rationality inside a universe he believes he’s physically incapable of imagining. But I’m happy to just wait and see.
What makes you so sure the HPMoR universe is reductionist and/or runs on simple physical laws?
HPMoR is a rationalist story, not necessary a reductionist story. A true rationalist must be willing to update against even reductionism, if the evidence leads there.
It’s the fundamental simplicity and regularity of the universe that allows the basic tools of rationality to work at all. Reality is laced together too tightly to permit a world where ‘muggle science’ can function but Occam’s Razor isn’t reliable. Eliezer couldn’t teach his brand of rationality with a universe that ran on genre tropes instead of particle physics.
ETA: Okay, he could try, but it would be a mistake. And I know that he knows this, because I learned it from him.
Well, to some extent yeah, I guess. If SPHEW’s plan to tie up Harry and drag him alongside as a bait to “Adventures” had worked, then Hermione giving up on reason might have had merit.
But that (genre tropes vs particle physics) is a rather false dichotomy. I can imagine a fictional universe which designates pieces of knowledge as fundamental entities, and can therefore designate “importance” on events, based on how many people will come to know of them, and can throw back pieces of knowledge through Seers.
It’s not our universe, but that would still be a universe one could attempt to sensibly reason about—and I think that’s the sort of different universe that Eliezer would find fun to write about.
In short, I don’t share your model of Eliezer.
Alright then. I don’t understand how your non-reductionist universe works at all—how do the ideas interact with the people? Are the people made of anything? - and I don’t believe that the person who wrote this
would set a story intended to teach rationality inside a universe he believes he’s physically incapable of imagining. But I’m happy to just wait and see.