A Human’s Guide to Words

24 Aug 2017 2:57 UTC

This sequence discusses the basic relationship between cognition and concept formation. 37 Ways That Words Can Be Wrong is a guide to the sequence.

The Parable of the Dagger

Eliezer Yudkowsky1 Feb 2008 20:53 UTC

229 points

105 comments1 min readLW link

The Parable of Hemlock

Eliezer Yudkowsky3 Feb 2008 2:01 UTC

89 points

19 comments4 min readLW link

Words as Hidden Inferences

Eliezer Yudkowsky3 Feb 2008 23:36 UTC

96 points

23 comments3 min readLW link

Extensions and Intensions

Eliezer Yudkowsky4 Feb 2008 21:34 UTC

99 points

32 comments4 min readLW link

Similarity Clusters

Eliezer Yudkowsky6 Feb 2008 3:34 UTC

64 points

5 comments2 min readLW link

Typicality and Asymmetrical Similarity

Eliezer Yudkowsky6 Feb 2008 21:20 UTC

55 points

69 comments3 min readLW link

The Cluster Structure of Thingspace

Eliezer Yudkowsky8 Feb 2008 0:07 UTC

154 points

32 comments4 min readLW link

Disguised Queries

Eliezer Yudkowsky9 Feb 2008 0:05 UTC

181 points

108 comments5 min readLW link

Neural Categories

Eliezer Yudkowsky10 Feb 2008 0:33 UTC

61 points

17 comments4 min readLW link

How An Algorithm Feels From Inside

Eliezer Yudkowsky11 Feb 2008 2:35 UTC

277 points

85 comments4 min readLW link

Disputing Definitions

Eliezer Yudkowsky12 Feb 2008 0:15 UTC

117 points

46 comments5 min readLW link

Feel the Meaning

Eliezer Yudkowsky13 Feb 2008 1:01 UTC

61 points

12 comments3 min readLW link

The Argument from Common Usage

Eliezer Yudkowsky13 Feb 2008 16:24 UTC

62 points

23 comments4 min readLW link

Empty Labels

Eliezer Yudkowsky14 Feb 2008 23:50 UTC

51 points

7 comments2 min readLW link

Taboo Your Words

Eliezer Yudkowsky15 Feb 2008 22:53 UTC

275 points

133 comments3 min readLW link

Replace the Symbol with the Substance

Eliezer Yudkowsky16 Feb 2008 18:12 UTC

88 points

17 comments5 min readLW link

Fallacies of Compression

Eliezer Yudkowsky17 Feb 2008 18:51 UTC

97 points

27 comments4 min readLW link

Categorizing Has Consequences

Eliezer Yudkowsky19 Feb 2008 1:40 UTC

74 points

13 comments3 min readLW link

Sneaking in Connotations

Eliezer Yudkowsky19 Feb 2008 19:41 UTC

84 points

23 comments3 min readLW link

Arguing “By Definition”

Eliezer Yudkowsky20 Feb 2008 23:37 UTC

85 points

41 comments4 min readLW link

Where to Draw the Boundary?

Eliezer Yudkowsky21 Feb 2008 19:14 UTC

82 points

53 comments3 min readLW link

Entropy, and Short Codes

Eliezer Yudkowsky23 Feb 2008 3:16 UTC

84 points

27 comments4 min readLW link

Mutual Information, and Density in Thingspace

Eliezer Yudkowsky23 Feb 2008 19:14 UTC

69 points

28 comments7 min readLW link

Superexponential Conceptspace, and Simple Words

Eliezer Yudkowsky24 Feb 2008 23:59 UTC

65 points

18 comments6 min readLW link

Conditional Independence, and Naive Bayes

Eliezer Yudkowsky1 Mar 2008 1:59 UTC

72 points

16 comments6 min readLW link

Words as Mental Paintbrush Handles

Eliezer Yudkowsky1 Mar 2008 23:58 UTC

49 points

76 comments3 min readLW link

Variable Question Fallacies

Eliezer Yudkowsky5 Mar 2008 6:22 UTC

47 points

37 comments3 min readLW link

37 Ways That Words Can Be Wrong

Eliezer Yudkowsky6 Mar 2008 5:09 UTC

229 points

78 comments9 min readLW link

1. Interlude

An Intuitive Explanation of Bayes’s Theorem

Eliezer Yudkowsky1 Jan 2003 20:00 UTC

68 points

10 comments25 min readLW link