It seems that in one of the chains Yudkovsky says that Newtonian mechanics is false. But in my opinion, saying that Newton’s mechanics is false is the same as saying that Einstein’s theory of relativity is false, well, we know that it does not work in the quantum world, so sooner or later it will be replaced by another theory, so you can say in advance that it is false. I think that this is generally the wrong question, and either we should indicate how much the percentage is false, somehow without confusing it with the probability that it is false. Or continue the metaphor of the map and territory. Maps are usually not false, they are inaccurate. Some map may not outperform white noise in predictions, but Newton’s map is not like that, his laws worked well until the discovery of problems with the orbit of Mercury, and replaced by the theory of relativity. Newton’s map is less like territory, less accurate than Einstein’s map. Let’s say Newton’s map contained a blurry gray spot in the shape of a circle, and one could assume that it was just a gray circle, but Einstein’s map showed us in higher resolution that there is a complex pattern in this place within a circle with equal alternation of black and white, no grey.
It seems that in one of the chains Yudkovsky says that Newtonian mechanics is false. But in my opinion, saying that Newton’s mechanics is false is the same as saying that Einstein’s theory of relativity is false, well, we know that it does not work in the quantum world, so sooner or later it will be replaced by another theory, so you can say in advance that it is false. I think that this is generally the wrong question, and either we should indicate how much the percentage is false, somehow without confusing it with the probability that it is false. Or continue the metaphor of the map and territory. Maps are usually not false, they are inaccurate. Some map may not outperform white noise in predictions, but Newton’s map is not like that, his laws worked well until the discovery of problems with the orbit of Mercury, and replaced by the theory of relativity. Newton’s map is less like territory, less accurate than Einstein’s map. Let’s say Newton’s map contained a blurry gray spot in the shape of a circle, and one could assume that it was just a gray circle, but Einstein’s map showed us in higher resolution that there is a complex pattern in this place within a circle with equal alternation of black and white, no grey.