And if you don’t know, now you know, nigga
-- The Notorious BIG, Juicy
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For those interested in these topics I suggest reading Robert Anton Wilson’s nonfiction, specifically the Cosmic Trigger series and Prometheus Rising.
Interesting and useful post, but I’m not sure I agree with the analogy to learned helplessness or using the word “learned” at all. The state you are describing seems to vary greatly between individuals (for contrast, I know many people who believe they can do or know almost anything correctly) and probably correlates to such things as intelligence, openness, risk-tolerance, etc. What makes you think this “blankness” is learned?
This is really great! I was hoping some sort of rationalist/poker mashup would materialize (and would have organized something like this myself if my rationalist knowledge matched my poker knowledge ;-)
I’ve always believed poker to be a great test for rationality. OK, maybe it’s not perfect—but who can suggest something better? Also, it’s got mainstream popularity going for it which is very valuable.
That said, there are other details which contribute to being good at poker. Last year I conducted an informal study into the personality traits of online poker players. There were only two measured factors which correlated (negatively) with poker success: age and Neuroticism. I would venture to say that a very rational person who also scores very high on the Neuroticism personality scale would not be good at poker. (Then again, a rational person could(?) retrain his or her level of Neuroticism, but then we’re entering the whole nature vs. nurture debate of personality and that’s a whole other topic...)
I’ll be following your blog and would love to help out any way I can!
AFAIK playing online poker is NOT illegal in any state except Washington. What is illegal is for US financial institutions to conduct transactions with online gaming companies.
For a review see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_poker#Legality
There is some truth to the fact that online poker is getting tougher, but it is definitely exaggerated. I can assure you that it is still beatable and very profitable by competent players.
Also, don’t forget the option of playing live poker. With a little training and practice, I would bet that most readers of this blog (who aren’t prone to emotional instability, aka “tilt”) would easily dominate at least the low-stakes games.
Gambling online for money is NOT illegal in most states. What’s explicitly illegal is for US banks/financial institutions to perform transactions with online gambling companies.
I think he means that it is irrational to ponder death when those moments can be spent living life productively. Not sure if I agree—doesn’t the thought of one’s death often propel us to great action, while lack of such thoughts leads to complacency? Anyways here is the the proof from the Ethics:
Proof.— (67:1) A free man is one who lives under the guidance of reason, who is not led by fear (IV:lxiii.), but who directly desires that which is good (IV:lxiii.Coroll.), in other words (IV:xxiv.), who strives to act, to live, and to preserve his being on the basis of seeking his own true advantage; wherefore such an one thinks of nothing less than of death, but his wisdom is a meditation of life.
“A free man thinks of death least of all things; and his wisdom is a meditation not of death but of life.”
-Baruch Spinoza
Cool, I will take a look. I’ve frequently wondered how things would’ve developed had the Dutch been able to hold on to New Amsterdam…
Hi all. 25 yo New Yorker here. Been following this site for a while now, since Eliezer was still writing at OB.
Currently I’m working on two tech startups (it’s fun to not get paid). My academic background is in cognitive psychology. In addition to AI, rationality, cognitive bias, sci fi, and the other usual suspects, my interests include architecture, poker, and 17th century Dutch history. ;)
Obviously I went out on a limb here, but I stand by the lyric as a good rationality quote.
It succinctly and elegantly echoes one of Eliezer’s 12 virtues: relinquishment. Biggy is basically telling his audience to update their beliefs based on new evidence which he reveals throughout the song. He is systematically destroying untruth.
Also, the word “nigga” is mostly devoid of racial connotations, especially in this context. It’s much more akin to “brother”, “comrade”, “man,” “friend”, etc. -- it’s emphasizing the communal nature between the artist and his audience. He’s inviting them into his private world of truth.
I would roughly interpret it like this: “You may not have known before, but now you do know, my friend [and that is a good thing].”