Chaning one’s mind is a big applause light here (and a name of the upcoming Sequences ebook). So it is nice to know whether we are actually doing it, or just believing that we do.
I don’t remember myself changing opinions dramatically after reading the Sequences. I was already non-religious; I believed that truth matters and self-deception is unreliable; I was kinda aware that politics makes otherwise reasonable people say crazy things; I noticed that many intelligent people use their intelligence to justify their sometimes completely crazy beliefs in sophisticated ways instead of checking whether their beliefs actually are correct. My biggest impression from Sequences was the relief of realizing that I am not the only person on this planet who believes this (I’m still not sure how much this was a result of this mindset actually being rare, and how much is my inability to find and notice more such people unless they are very explicit about it).
Maybe I generally don’t hold strong opinions, and an update from hypothetical 40% to hypothetical 70% especially if it happens slowly, feels in hindsight like nothing happened. Maybe the paradigm-changing updates (like deconverting from a religion) are actually rare, and these silent updates are the norm. Changing your mind shouldn’t be a lost purpose—But maybe I am just making excuses.
Anyway, if you can’t give an example of yourself changing your mind, it seems silly if you have it as an applause light. Unless you suggest that other people should change their minds, to think more like you do.
(For the record: We do have here people who changed their minds after reading LW.)
What’s the purpose of asking specifically about changing an opinion?
Chaning one’s mind is a big applause light here (and a name of the upcoming Sequences ebook). So it is nice to know whether we are actually doing it, or just believing that we do.
I don’t remember myself changing opinions dramatically after reading the Sequences. I was already non-religious; I believed that truth matters and self-deception is unreliable; I was kinda aware that politics makes otherwise reasonable people say crazy things; I noticed that many intelligent people use their intelligence to justify their sometimes completely crazy beliefs in sophisticated ways instead of checking whether their beliefs actually are correct. My biggest impression from Sequences was the relief of realizing that I am not the only person on this planet who believes this (I’m still not sure how much this was a result of this mindset actually being rare, and how much is my inability to find and notice more such people unless they are very explicit about it).
Maybe I generally don’t hold strong opinions, and an update from hypothetical 40% to hypothetical 70% especially if it happens slowly, feels in hindsight like nothing happened. Maybe the paradigm-changing updates (like deconverting from a religion) are actually rare, and these silent updates are the norm. Changing your mind shouldn’t be a lost purpose—But maybe I am just making excuses.
Anyway, if you can’t give an example of yourself changing your mind, it seems silly if you have it as an applause light. Unless you suggest that other people should change their minds, to think more like you do.
(For the record: We do have here people who changed their minds after reading LW.)