(Disclaimer: As a past SIAI Visiting Fellow and current Bay Area resident, I’ve talked to Jasen about his plans, but do not speak for him or SIAI.)
I think you may be overextending the “boot camp” analogy a bit beyond the intended connotations of organization/discipline/intensity. That said:
Suffering is a big part of being a soldier and being physically active, but not necessarily part of being a rationalist and being mentally active.
Doing anything hard often involves fear, frustration, self-doubt, disapproval, sacrifice, and other sorts of pain. Not suffering in response to these signals, and not letting them overly sway your actions (giving up too soon, or not doing scary things) is really useful. Make no mistake, the intent of the course is not just to train theoretical rationality, but to enable people to do hard and meaningful things.
(I don’t mean to say that causing suffering is an intended part of the course, just to state why I think learning to withstand pain is more important to becoming a formidable rationalist than it sounds like you do.)
Will you keep that for the group effects, or try and make the process as pleasant as possible? Is rationality training something that goes better when you force it, like physical training or unit cohesion, or something that goes worse when you force it? Will you try to manage/preserve the curiosity of students, and how? How skilled are you at detecting and manipulating the bounds of human endurance?
I don’t mean to say that causing suffering is an intended part of the course, just to state why I think learning to withstand pain is more important to becoming a formidable rationalist than it sounds like you do.
I agree with you that it is very important and a very valuable skill. What I was trying to get across is that the suffering faced by a solider and a rationalist are different kinds of suffering, and the same strategies may not be effective. Does the ability to continue pumping iron, despite your screaming muscles, translate into the ability to speak in public, despite your screaming brain?
Does the ability to continue pumping iron, despite your screaming muscles, translate into the ability to speak in public, despite your screaming brain?
Interesting. I haven’t had any fear of public speaking, and so I don’t know what it’s like to overcome it (while I do have difficulty motivating myself to continue exercising). Are there other mental fears / obstacles that seem like good examples?
I guess ‘noticing a bias’ might be an entirely orthogonal skill, but I’m not sure if that’s applicable.
Mind you I wouldn’t call pumping iron despite your screaming muscles a particularly efficient way to improve your ability to speak in public despite your screaming brain. But it certainly helps. Some relevant mediating factors:
Improved willpower and self control.
Decreased salience of psychological distress—you can feel the discomfort without it needing to control or define you.
Increased testosterone levels promote social risk-taking.
Physical conditioning increases self esteem—your perception of your own status. The instinct to not draw public attention—and not place yourself above your station—is intrinsically linked to your relative status levels.
Exercise changes posture. Even things as simple as standing differently change how difficult public speaking is!
(Disclaimer: As a past SIAI Visiting Fellow and current Bay Area resident, I’ve talked to Jasen about his plans, but do not speak for him or SIAI.)
I think you may be overextending the “boot camp” analogy a bit beyond the intended connotations of organization/discipline/intensity. That said:
Doing anything hard often involves fear, frustration, self-doubt, disapproval, sacrifice, and other sorts of pain. Not suffering in response to these signals, and not letting them overly sway your actions (giving up too soon, or not doing scary things) is really useful. Make no mistake, the intent of the course is not just to train theoretical rationality, but to enable people to do hard and meaningful things.
(I don’t mean to say that causing suffering is an intended part of the course, just to state why I think learning to withstand pain is more important to becoming a formidable rationalist than it sounds like you do.)
These are good questions.
I agree with you that it is very important and a very valuable skill. What I was trying to get across is that the suffering faced by a solider and a rationalist are different kinds of suffering, and the same strategies may not be effective. Does the ability to continue pumping iron, despite your screaming muscles, translate into the ability to speak in public, despite your screaming brain?
Thanks!
Yes.
Interesting. I haven’t had any fear of public speaking, and so I don’t know what it’s like to overcome it (while I do have difficulty motivating myself to continue exercising). Are there other mental fears / obstacles that seem like good examples?
I guess ‘noticing a bias’ might be an entirely orthogonal skill, but I’m not sure if that’s applicable.
Mind you I wouldn’t call pumping iron despite your screaming muscles a particularly efficient way to improve your ability to speak in public despite your screaming brain. But it certainly helps. Some relevant mediating factors:
Improved willpower and self control.
Decreased salience of psychological distress—you can feel the discomfort without it needing to control or define you.
Increased testosterone levels promote social risk-taking.
Physical conditioning increases self esteem—your perception of your own status. The instinct to not draw public attention—and not place yourself above your station—is intrinsically linked to your relative status levels.
Exercise changes posture. Even things as simple as standing differently change how difficult public speaking is!