Common sense does seem like a superpower sometimes, but that’s not a real explanation. I think that what we call common sense is mostly just the result of clear thinking and having a distaste for nonsense. If you favour reality over fancies, you are more likely to pay more attention to reality --> better mental habits --> stronger intuition = common sense.
But to answer your question, yes I do know people like that and I do respect them for it (though they still have above average intelligence, mostly). However, I would not trust them with making decisions on anything counter-intuitive like economics, unless they’re also really good at knowing what experts to listen to.
However, I would not trust them with making decisions on anything counter-intuitive like economics, unless they’re also really good at knowing what experts to listen to.
Yeah, but I’d say that about the smart people too.
Related, just seen today: The curse of smart people. SPOILER: “an ability to convincingly rationalize nearly anything.”
Related, just seen today: The curse of smart people. SPOILER: “an ability to convincingly rationalize nearly anything.”
The AI box experiment seems to support this. People who have been persuaded that it would be irrational to let an unfriendly AI out of the box are being persuaded to let it out of the box.
The ability of smarter or more knowledgeable people to convince less intelligent or less educated people of falsehoods (e.g. parents and children) shows that we need to put less weight on arguments and more weight on falsifiability.
I wouldn’t use the Ai box experiment as an example for anything because it is specifically designed to be a black box: It’s exciting precisely because the outcome confuses the heck out of people. I’m having trouble parsing this in Bayesian terms but I think you’re committing a rationalist sin by using an event that your model of reality couldn’t predict in advance as evidence that your model of reality is correct.
I strongly agree that we need to put less weight on arguments but I think falsifiability is impractical in everyday situations.
S1) Most smart people aren’t rational but most rational people are smart D1) There are people of average intelligence with common sense S2) Yes they have good intuition but you cannot trust them with counter-intuitive subjects (people with average intelligence are not rational) D2) You can’t trust smart people with counter-intuitive subjects either (smart people aren’t rational)
D2) does not contradict S1 because “most smart people aren’t rational” isn’t the same as “most rational people aren’t smart”, which is of course the main point of S1).
Interesting article, it confirms my personal experiences in corporations. However, I think the real problem is deeper than smart people being able to rationalize anything. The real problem is that overconfidence and rationalizing your actions makes becoming a powerful decision-maker easier. The mistakes they make due to irrationality don’t catch up with them until after the damage is done, and then the next overconfident guy gets selected.
Common sense does seem like a superpower sometimes, but that’s not a real explanation. I think that what we call common sense is mostly just the result of clear thinking and having a distaste for nonsense. If you favour reality over fancies, you are more likely to pay more attention to reality --> better mental habits --> stronger intuition = common sense.
But to answer your question, yes I do know people like that and I do respect them for it (though they still have above average intelligence, mostly). However, I would not trust them with making decisions on anything counter-intuitive like economics, unless they’re also really good at knowing what experts to listen to.
Yeah, but I’d say that about the smart people too.
Related, just seen today: The curse of smart people. SPOILER: “an ability to convincingly rationalize nearly anything.”
The AI box experiment seems to support this. People who have been persuaded that it would be irrational to let an unfriendly AI out of the box are being persuaded to let it out of the box.
The ability of smarter or more knowledgeable people to convince less intelligent or less educated people of falsehoods (e.g. parents and children) shows that we need to put less weight on arguments and more weight on falsifiability.
I wouldn’t use the Ai box experiment as an example for anything because it is specifically designed to be a black box: It’s exciting precisely because the outcome confuses the heck out of people. I’m having trouble parsing this in Bayesian terms but I think you’re committing a rationalist sin by using an event that your model of reality couldn’t predict in advance as evidence that your model of reality is correct.
I strongly agree that we need to put less weight on arguments but I think falsifiability is impractical in everyday situations.
S1) Most smart people aren’t rational but most rational people are smart
D1) There are people of average intelligence with common sense
S2) Yes they have good intuition but you cannot trust them with counter-intuitive subjects (people with average intelligence are not rational)
D2) You can’t trust smart people with counter-intuitive subjects either (smart people aren’t rational)
D2) does not contradict S1 because “most smart people aren’t rational” isn’t the same as “most rational people aren’t smart”, which is of course the main point of S1).
Interesting article, it confirms my personal experiences in corporations. However, I think the real problem is deeper than smart people being able to rationalize anything. The real problem is that overconfidence and rationalizing your actions makes becoming a powerful decision-maker easier. The mistakes they make due to irrationality don’t catch up with them until after the damage is done, and then the next overconfident guy gets selected.