Hmmm… so if akrasia/laziness is the only problem, then Modafinil solves everything?
In all seriousness and gullibility, I would expect that even a minor effort into rationality would have a large financial effect, even if you only exert it for five minutes a year when you’re programming your IRA/40 whatever.
Does modafinal literally eliminate akrasia for you? I need to get me some of that.
I think that was one factor Yvain mentioned. The other two I think are more damning to the whole idea of rationality as winning.
One is that most people who are successful are rational when they need to be in their field, without having to make a formal study and be rational all the time.
The other idea is that rationality is only a small small slice of what makes you successful, and that there are probably a ton of other factors that help even more.
One idea that Yvain didn’t mention (and actually wrote a blog post arguing against) is that maybe rationality is a red queen game. The more you study it, the more tricky your mind gets at rationalizing it’s irrationalities. That view is explored here: http://www.overcomingbias.com/2014/06/bias-is-a-red-queen-game.html
Speaking only from personal experience, it reduces akrasia rather than eliminates it.
An odd factor is an inability to engage in pure entertainment, but I wonder if this is merely a latent psychological issue specific to me that only surfaces when taking modafinil. This seems like it’s a benefit, but it can be an annoyance in regards to social interaction, almost like a classic djinn wish. Since it only lasts half a day (for me) after the first week, this isn’t really a problem, though.
I recommend never taking anything with caffeine in it while on modafinil, but you might not respond as strongly to it as I do.
The most easily observed benefit for me has been not falling asleep while driving, watching movies, sitting, standing idly, etc.
Yeah, that makes sense… I certainly know people that have spent a LOT of effort maintaining their randomly chosen viewpoint. Goes back to meme theory, memes are selected for ability to stick in the mind and remove other memes.
(I’ve never taken Modafinil, just thinking that there might be some chemical help for hunter-gatherer laziness).
Yvain wrote an article on this: http://lesswrong.com/lw/9p/extreme_rationality_its_not_that_great/
Hmmm… so if akrasia/laziness is the only problem, then Modafinil solves everything?
In all seriousness and gullibility, I would expect that even a minor effort into rationality would have a large financial effect, even if you only exert it for five minutes a year when you’re programming your IRA/40 whatever.
Does modafinal literally eliminate akrasia for you? I need to get me some of that.
I think that was one factor Yvain mentioned. The other two I think are more damning to the whole idea of rationality as winning.
One is that most people who are successful are rational when they need to be in their field, without having to make a formal study and be rational all the time.
The other idea is that rationality is only a small small slice of what makes you successful, and that there are probably a ton of other factors that help even more.
One idea that Yvain didn’t mention (and actually wrote a blog post arguing against) is that maybe rationality is a red queen game. The more you study it, the more tricky your mind gets at rationalizing it’s irrationalities. That view is explored here: http://www.overcomingbias.com/2014/06/bias-is-a-red-queen-game.html
Speaking only from personal experience, it reduces akrasia rather than eliminates it.
An odd factor is an inability to engage in pure entertainment, but I wonder if this is merely a latent psychological issue specific to me that only surfaces when taking modafinil. This seems like it’s a benefit, but it can be an annoyance in regards to social interaction, almost like a classic djinn wish. Since it only lasts half a day (for me) after the first week, this isn’t really a problem, though.
I recommend never taking anything with caffeine in it while on modafinil, but you might not respond as strongly to it as I do.
The most easily observed benefit for me has been not falling asleep while driving, watching movies, sitting, standing idly, etc.
Yeah, that makes sense… I certainly know people that have spent a LOT of effort maintaining their randomly chosen viewpoint. Goes back to meme theory, memes are selected for ability to stick in the mind and remove other memes.
(I’ve never taken Modafinil, just thinking that there might be some chemical help for hunter-gatherer laziness).