What do you mean exactly by “specifically designed”?
Anyway, I don’t disagree with you exactly.
My original point was not that the LW defnition of rationality was a good or bad definition, but that the definition Algernoq was asserting as the LW consensus definition of rationality was probably not actually true.
ETA: I’m also not sure that I agree with you about the definition being useless, as I think the LW defintion seems designed specifically to counter thinking that leads to someone spending 25% of their time for a car trip planning to save 5%. By explicitly stating that rationality is about winning it helps to not get bogged down in the details and to remember what the point is. Whether or not the definition that has arisen is explicitly designed with that in mind, I can’t say.
thinking that leads to someone spending 25% of their time for a car trip planning to save 5%
I don’t understand this. You’re saying that people spend 25% of their time planning the trip, and save 5% of their time on the trip? (Which is bad, but I doubt is that common)? Or they spend 25% of their time on the trip, and they plan to save 5% of their time on something else? (Which I also doubt is that common). Or that they spend 25% of their time on the trip, and they plan to save 5% of something else, like money? (Which may or may not be bad depending on how time translates to money).
This does sound a little bit like the complaint that people spend 25% of the price of something (rather than of the time) on a car trip to save 5% on the price, but I’ve argued that that’s a form of precommitting where as long as you precommit to buy at the store with the lowest price even if it’s far away, nearby stores have an incentive to keep prices low.
This does sound a little bit like the complaint that people spend 25% of the price of something (rather than of the time) on a car trip to save 5% on the price, but I’ve argued that that’s a form of precommitting where as long as you precommit to buy at the store with the lowest price even if it’s far away, nearby stores have an incentive to keep prices low.
But if you take into account both price and location when deciding where to shop, stores will have an incentive not only to keep prices low but also to be near where people are!
Stores can’t move closer to where all the people are, however; at some point any incentives from moving close to some people would be countered by moving away from other people. There’s also the problem that past a certain density stores do better when farther away from other stores. Not to mention the transaction costs moving in the first place. Prices don’t have these problems.
I’m not particularly saying anything as I was just referring to the concept introduced in the main post. You’ll have to ask Algernoq as to what the specific intention was.
What do you mean exactly by “specifically designed”?
Anyway, I don’t disagree with you exactly.
My original point was not that the LW defnition of rationality was a good or bad definition, but that the definition Algernoq was asserting as the LW consensus definition of rationality was probably not actually true.
ETA: I’m also not sure that I agree with you about the definition being useless, as I think the LW defintion seems designed specifically to counter thinking that leads to someone spending 25% of their time for a car trip planning to save 5%. By explicitly stating that rationality is about winning it helps to not get bogged down in the details and to remember what the point is. Whether or not the definition that has arisen is explicitly designed with that in mind, I can’t say.
I don’t understand this. You’re saying that people spend 25% of their time planning the trip, and save 5% of their time on the trip? (Which is bad, but I doubt is that common)? Or they spend 25% of their time on the trip, and they plan to save 5% of their time on something else? (Which I also doubt is that common). Or that they spend 25% of their time on the trip, and they plan to save 5% of something else, like money? (Which may or may not be bad depending on how time translates to money).
This does sound a little bit like the complaint that people spend 25% of the price of something (rather than of the time) on a car trip to save 5% on the price, but I’ve argued that that’s a form of precommitting where as long as you precommit to buy at the store with the lowest price even if it’s far away, nearby stores have an incentive to keep prices low.
But if you take into account both price and location when deciding where to shop, stores will have an incentive not only to keep prices low but also to be near where people are!
Stores can’t move closer to where all the people are, however; at some point any incentives from moving close to some people would be countered by moving away from other people. There’s also the problem that past a certain density stores do better when farther away from other stores. Not to mention the transaction costs moving in the first place. Prices don’t have these problems.
All I’m saying is it looks like many people are being Rational because it’s fun, not because it’s useful.
I’m not particularly saying anything as I was just referring to the concept introduced in the main post. You’ll have to ask Algernoq as to what the specific intention was.