I actually started working on something similar, but it never really took off and real-world responsibilities prevented me from working on it for a while. Feel free to pick up where I left off. Anyway, here’s my first attempt (I may try again later):
I don’t know if the intention here is to debate other people’s choices, but: my wife started The Simple Truth because it was the first sequence post on the list and quickly became frustrated and annoyed that it didn’t seem to lead anywhere and seemed to be composed of “in jokes.” She didn’t try to read further into the Sequences because of the bad impression she got off this article, which is an unusually weird, long, rambling, quirky article.
I actually like The Simple Truth but I don’t feel that it makes a good introduction to the Sequences. But hey, this is just one data point.
I predict that when your wife read “The Simple Truth” she was not acquainted with (or was not thinking about) the various theories of truth
that philosophers have come up with. I like it a lot, but
when I first read it I was able to see it as a defense of a
particular theory of truth and a critique of some other
ones.
Edit: In other words, I think “The Simple Truth”
appeals mainly to people who have read descriptions of the
other theories of truth and said to themselves, “People
actually believe that?!”
You’re correct. What I love about the Sequences in general is that it’s a colloquial, patient introduction to lots of new concepts. In theory, even somebody with no background in decision theories or quantum mechanics can actually learn these concepts from the Sequences. The Simple Truth is significantly different in tone and style from the majority of Sequence posts and the concepts which that post satirizes are not really introduced before the comedy begins.
If you go to http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences and choose the first option (1 Core Sequences), then choose the first listed subsequence (Map and Territory), the very first post is The Simple Truth. The second choice is What Do We Mean by Rationality? which really, really seems like it should be the first thing a newcomer reads.
I actually like The Simple Truth but I don’t feel that it makes a good introduction to the Sequences.
Same here, though I think it does depend on the readers background. People who strongly disbelieve in the concept of objective truth might find it helpful to have that taken care of before starting the sequences proper, but even then I’m not sure if the simple truth is the best way.
You might be right—I’ll have to re-read it. I put this list together based on my memory of what these posts are like, and given how volatile memories are, I may be mistaken about their quality.
Edit: You’re right. I’ll change my list accordingly.
I actually started working on something similar, but it never really took off and real-world responsibilities prevented me from working on it for a while. Feel free to pick up where I left off. Anyway, here’s my first attempt (I may try again later):
Twelve Virtues of Rationality
The Cognitive Science of Rationality
The Bottom Line
Making Beliefs Pay Rent
An Intuitive Explanation of Bayes’ Theorem
Knowing About Biases Can Hurt People
A Fable of Science and Politics
Hindsight Devalues Science
Taboo Your Words
The Least Convenient Possible World
The Apologist and the Revolutionary
Mind Projection Fallacy
Confidence Levels Inside and Outside an Argument
The Fallacy of Gray
Ugh Fields
Cached selves
Conjunction Fallacy
Understanding Your Understanding
Humans are not automatically strategic
How to Beat Procrastination
I don’t know if the intention here is to debate other people’s choices, but: my wife started The Simple Truth because it was the first sequence post on the list and quickly became frustrated and annoyed that it didn’t seem to lead anywhere and seemed to be composed of “in jokes.” She didn’t try to read further into the Sequences because of the bad impression she got off this article, which is an unusually weird, long, rambling, quirky article.
I actually like The Simple Truth but I don’t feel that it makes a good introduction to the Sequences. But hey, this is just one data point.
I predict that when your wife read “The Simple Truth” she was not acquainted with (or was not thinking about) the various theories of truth that philosophers have come up with. I like it a lot, but when I first read it I was able to see it as a defense of a particular theory of truth and a critique of some other ones.
(In particular, it’s a defense of the correspondence theory, though see this thread.)
Edit: In other words, I think “The Simple Truth” appeals mainly to people who have read descriptions of the other theories of truth and said to themselves, “People actually believe that?!”
You’re correct. What I love about the Sequences in general is that it’s a colloquial, patient introduction to lots of new concepts. In theory, even somebody with no background in decision theories or quantum mechanics can actually learn these concepts from the Sequences. The Simple Truth is significantly different in tone and style from the majority of Sequence posts and the concepts which that post satirizes are not really introduced before the comedy begins.
If you go to http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences and choose the first option (1 Core Sequences), then choose the first listed subsequence (Map and Territory), the very first post is The Simple Truth. The second choice is What Do We Mean by Rationality? which really, really seems like it should be the first thing a newcomer reads.
Same here, though I think it does depend on the readers background. People who strongly disbelieve in the concept of objective truth might find it helpful to have that taken care of before starting the sequences proper, but even then I’m not sure if the simple truth is the best way.
You might be right—I’ll have to re-read it. I put this list together based on my memory of what these posts are like, and given how volatile memories are, I may be mistaken about their quality.
Edit: You’re right. I’ll change my list accordingly.