I do think that Bayesian has a better ring to it than, say, Bayesiologist, or Bayesonomer. It is probably healthy to have a strong gut reaction against -isms, but it seems like a good idea to have a shorthand word that basically tells the people of LW that you are aware of priors odds and how they interplay with posteriors (that can actually be taken as rather raunchy… I think I’ll keep it there), see probabilities as statements of subjective belief, and are trying to find ways to bring that simple mathematical statement, and all of its consequences, into your being.
It might not be the best short-hand way of telling someone what stage of the journey you are on, but at least they know that you’ve left the gate. I kind of see it like how I saw myself as an undergraduate: I wasn’t a mathematician, I was an aspiring mathematician. Now that I’ve graduated, and haven’t done much heavy math lifting, I might call myself a lapsed mathematician. These terms may sound icky and religious in some anti-rational circles, but in a rationalist sphere, it is more of a useful way to tell people what you’re thinking right now, and what you’ve been thinking recently.
Although, to think about it… it might be awesome if we took to titles like old school royalty, where every topic (instead of nation) you master gets added to your name. I am Beriukay, Lord Of The Realm Of Dark Sun, Ravager Of Creationism, Wielder Of The Twin Blades Of QWERTY And Dvorak, Bringer Of De Morgan’s Holy Flame… . That wouldn’t look bad in any of the Bayesian Conspiracy fictions, and while verbose, would be a lot more accurate and fun than just calling ourselves Bayesians or whatever.
I do think that Bayesian has a better ring to it than, say, Bayesiologist, or Bayesonomer. It is probably healthy to have a strong gut reaction against -isms, but it seems like a good idea to have a shorthand word that basically tells the people of LW that you are aware of priors odds and how they interplay with posteriors (that can actually be taken as rather raunchy… I think I’ll keep it there), see probabilities as statements of subjective belief, and are trying to find ways to bring that simple mathematical statement, and all of its consequences, into your being.
It might not be the best short-hand way of telling someone what stage of the journey you are on, but at least they know that you’ve left the gate. I kind of see it like how I saw myself as an undergraduate: I wasn’t a mathematician, I was an aspiring mathematician. Now that I’ve graduated, and haven’t done much heavy math lifting, I might call myself a lapsed mathematician. These terms may sound icky and religious in some anti-rational circles, but in a rationalist sphere, it is more of a useful way to tell people what you’re thinking right now, and what you’ve been thinking recently.
Although, to think about it… it might be awesome if we took to titles like old school royalty, where every topic (instead of nation) you master gets added to your name. I am Beriukay, Lord Of The Realm Of Dark Sun, Ravager Of Creationism, Wielder Of The Twin Blades Of QWERTY And Dvorak, Bringer Of De Morgan’s Holy Flame… . That wouldn’t look bad in any of the Bayesian Conspiracy fictions, and while verbose, would be a lot more accurate and fun than just calling ourselves Bayesians or whatever.