I’ve never liked the Holmes quote as anything other than a neat fictional device. While it’s strictly true, I suspect that you can not eliminate the impossible in a large portion of real life situations where the idea could be most useful. On top of that, I think the idea is seductive in a way that you can fool yourself into thinking you’ve eliminated the impossible.
So the quote sits in this odd place where its true, it makes sense, it feels good to read and say and believe, and yet it is dangerous to live by.
So the quote sits in this odd place where its true, it makes sense, it feels good to read and say and believe, and yet it is dangerous to live by.
Looks like you have identified a certain dangerous class of anti-memes—esp. for rationalists. Could call it a rationalists trap. Related to nerd-sniping.
Aside:
I’ve never liked the Holmes quote as anything other than a neat fictional device. While it’s strictly true, I suspect that you can not eliminate the impossible in a large portion of real life situations where the idea could be most useful. On top of that, I think the idea is seductive in a way that you can fool yourself into thinking you’ve eliminated the impossible.
So the quote sits in this odd place where its true, it makes sense, it feels good to read and say and believe, and yet it is dangerous to live by.
Looks like you have identified a certain dangerous class of anti-memes—esp. for rationalists. Could call it a rationalists trap. Related to nerd-sniping.