Not so long ago I hit upon a definition of rationality which better captured what everything people actually use the term to refer to.
I think a solid definition of rationality is: trying to do better on purpose.
Instead of following your default procedure, you pull back and do something different to get a better result. This might be thinking in ways other than the default or doing things in ways other than the default.
A natural consequence of tying to do better on purpose is that you look for higher-level improvements rather than purely immediate, domain-specific concrete ones. Many people think to practice and train skills, but the rationalist seeks to reflect on how they train and process. Many people work towards goals, the rationalist pauses to reflect on their selection goals.
So why care about rationality? Because you want to do better.
If you believe that it is possible to do better, and that doing better results in more of what you want—then surely you would want that.
Not so long ago I hit upon a definition of rationality which better captured what everything people actually use the term to refer to.
I think a solid definition of rationality is: trying to do better on purpose.
Instead of following your default procedure, you pull back and do something different to get a better result. This might be thinking in ways other than the default or doing things in ways other than the default.
A natural consequence of tying to do better on purpose is that you look for higher-level improvements rather than purely immediate, domain-specific concrete ones. Many people think to practice and train skills, but the rationalist seeks to reflect on how they train and process. Many people work towards goals, the rationalist pauses to reflect on their selection goals.
So why care about rationality? Because you want to do better.
If you believe that it is possible to do better, and that doing better results in more of what you want—then surely you would want that.