Rationality might not have a lot of practical value, precisely because things that had such value are already well-engineered by evolution and culture. But it still advances your understanding of the world and yourself a lot, and I personally find that one of my few terminal values.
Incidentally, rationality might imply that Starcraft is a kind of trojan that exploits our reward circuits, and if we want to maximize our values (as opposed to our pleasure), we are well-advised to take a stance against this exploitation.
But it still advances your understanding of the world and yourself a lot
I’m not sure that it does. I certainly haven’t seen any evidence of LessWrong-style rationality being a better means of achieving understanding of the world than, say, just getting a bunch of textbooks and journal articles on whatever you’re interested in and doing some old-fashioned studying.
Incidentally, rationality might imply that Starcraft is a kind of trojan that exploits our reward circuits, and if we want to maximize our values (as opposed to our pleasure), we are well-advised to take a stance against this exploitation.
Alternatively, we might say that rationality is a toolbox, and makes no judgements about what you apply those tools to. If you apply the tools of rationality to become a better Starcraft player, then good for you! You have used rationality to improve your skills and work towards your goal more efficiently. Certainly, I’ve seen a much stronger standards of epistemics in the Starcraft and video game speedrunning communities than in many other places, LessWrong included.
Rationality might not have a lot of practical value, precisely because things that had such value are already well-engineered by evolution and culture. But it still advances your understanding of the world and yourself a lot, and I personally find that one of my few terminal values. Incidentally, rationality might imply that Starcraft is a kind of trojan that exploits our reward circuits, and if we want to maximize our values (as opposed to our pleasure), we are well-advised to take a stance against this exploitation.
I’m not sure that it does. I certainly haven’t seen any evidence of LessWrong-style rationality being a better means of achieving understanding of the world than, say, just getting a bunch of textbooks and journal articles on whatever you’re interested in and doing some old-fashioned studying.
Alternatively, we might say that rationality is a toolbox, and makes no judgements about what you apply those tools to. If you apply the tools of rationality to become a better Starcraft player, then good for you! You have used rationality to improve your skills and work towards your goal more efficiently. Certainly, I’ve seen a much stronger standards of epistemics in the Starcraft and video game speedrunning communities than in many other places, LessWrong included.