Eliezer brilliantly wrote this in Twelve Virtues of Rationality: ”Do not be blinded by words. When words are subtracted, anticipation remains.”
I think “rational” and “optimal” share similar anticipatory elements, but “optimal” is simpler and more abstract, whereas “rational” almost necessarily applies “optimal” to some bounded agent.
When I think of a “rational” decision versus an “optimal” decision, or a “rational” person versus an “optimal” person, the overlap I see is the degree of effectiveness of something. What I anticipate with “rational” is the effectiveness of something as a result of the procedural decision-making of an agent with scarce knowledge and capability. Context reveals who this agent is; it’s often humans. What I anticipate with “optimal” is the highest effectiveness of something, either inclusive or exclusive of an agent and scarcity. If the context reveals no agent, scarcity can be physical but not distributive; if the context reveals an agent, it will imply which agent and what level of scarcity.
I would imagine that using proper descriptors or clear context would alleviate a lot of the ambiguity.
Eliezer brilliantly wrote this in Twelve Virtues of Rationality:
”Do not be blinded by words. When words are subtracted, anticipation remains.”
I think “rational” and “optimal” share similar anticipatory elements, but “optimal” is simpler and more abstract, whereas “rational” almost necessarily applies “optimal” to some bounded agent.
When I think of a “rational” decision versus an “optimal” decision, or a “rational” person versus an “optimal” person, the overlap I see is the degree of effectiveness of something.
What I anticipate with “rational” is the effectiveness of something as a result of the procedural decision-making of an agent with scarce knowledge and capability. Context reveals who this agent is; it’s often humans.
What I anticipate with “optimal” is the highest effectiveness of something, either inclusive or exclusive of an agent and scarcity. If the context reveals no agent, scarcity can be physical but not distributive; if the context reveals an agent, it will imply which agent and what level of scarcity.
I would imagine that using proper descriptors or clear context would alleviate a lot of the ambiguity.