So essentially Eliezer is saying:
“The average sanity of humanity is less than the sanity of at least one of its component organisms.”
Which reduces to:
“I am less crazy than the average human.”
How is this useful?!?
Most people don’t know they have all these cognitive biases. Telling them that they do is a good first step toward improvement (at least in some).
Huh, I thought there was a fair bit of evidence around showing that people perform basically just as badly on tests which exploit cognitive biases after being told about them as they do in a state of ignorance.
Indeed. That’s why it is just “a first step”. Telling them is not enough, but you’ve got to start there.
It suggests that:
There might be other such people.
You might be one of them...
...or, if not, become one.
Humanity as a whole could do better.
It suggests that humanity can do better.
It suggests that more is possible.
It’s reassuring.
So essentially Eliezer is saying:
“The average sanity of humanity is less than the sanity of at least one of its component organisms.”
“I am less crazy than the average human.”
How is this useful?!?
Most people don’t know they have all these cognitive biases. Telling them that they do is a good first step toward improvement (at least in some).
Huh, I thought there was a fair bit of evidence around showing that people perform basically just as badly on tests which exploit cognitive biases after being told about them as they do in a state of ignorance.
Indeed. That’s why it is just “a first step”. Telling them is not enough, but you’ve got to start there.
It suggests that:
There might be other such people.
You might be one of them...
...or, if not, become one.
Humanity as a whole could do better.
It suggests that humanity can do better.
It suggests that more is possible.
It’s reassuring.