Conversation

Aella
@Aella_Girl
i was so focused on not pretending i knew things i didn't, that it took me a long time to realize it was nearly as bad a failure to pretend i didn't know things that i did. Pretending you know things feels like lying; pretending you don't know things feels like being nice
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Alex Altair
@postquanta
"Rationality is the art of not pretending you don't know things." mobile.twitter.com/ChanaMessinger
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
I once interacted with a rationalist who has a reputation for arrogance where they spoke a very arrogant-sounding, impolite social truth; but I noticed some part of me relaxed, like "but they're saying truth though," and I realized fear of arrogance was a kind of cowardice
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
(I am much less good at boldly knowing things compared to boldly not knowing things; taking a strong stance that represents your true opinions is really terrifying, and I often subconsciously justify this under rationalizations that I'm being humble)
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Bane432 🎩
@bane432
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
Being arrogance is definitely not a good thing if one wants to maintain relationships. I can't see what is so great about a person who talks arrogantly and speaks truth on people's face which might ruin relationships, make others feel discomfort & make situation awkward.
grumpysavior
@grumpysavior
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
i disagree. i think that IS real humility. being loud and confident doesn't seem like it ever helps collective decision making. just letting people know what you're currently thinking, along with some language to communicate your uncertainty, seems like it's the best rule
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@xTmT
Replying to
@Aella_Girl
Had similar insight about humility vs confidence. Saw a gamer start playing strategy game that I was familiar with and he was extremely confident about his obviously wrong choices. Not surprisngly he lost that match. Yet, a year later he was one of the best in the world.