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Aella
@Aella_Girl
Eliezer also wrote the 12 Virtues of Rationality, which also feels like it points at the heart of the thing. My summary of the virtues: 🧵 1. Curiosity - the desire to relinquish ignorance, the drive to Actually Know what's going on, the impulse to solve mystery
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
Its hard to describe what rationalist culture is "about"; here's a good summary of the conversational guidelines:
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
2. Relinquishment: "That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be". Let go of your attachments to previous beliefs; "do not flinch from experiences that might destroy your beliefs".
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
3. Lightness: Let your beliefs be deft and dexterous; in the face of evidence they should should update quickly, gently, without fighting. Respond precisely and proportionately to light touch.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
4. Evenness: Be wary of your own incentives for believing things; do not search to actively confirm or deny your beliefs. Don't form your conclusion and post-rationalize your interpretation of evidence; "do not seek to argue for one side."
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
5. Argument: Don't withdraw from argument, this leaves your beliefs untested; agreeing with others arguments or distributing agreement equally is not fair, this is not how truth works. Be prepared to, with integrity, stand for what you believe is true.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
6. Empiricism: "Don't be blinded by words" - observe and predict. Make your beliefs pay rent, look directly at what your beliefs claim about the world, pay attention to the basics, make your claims concrete, stay dependent on direct observation.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
7. Simplicity: Complicated models are more likely to fail and are a greater sign that you're twisting yourself in order to believe something; "when you profess a huge belief in many details, each additional detail is another chance for the belief to be wrong"
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
8. Humility: Account for your own failures. This doesn't mean just admitting your failures, it means taking action to anticipate the fallout of your failures. Be neither superior nor inferior; "life is not graded on a curve"
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
9. Perfectionism. Seek to pay careful attention to notice a greater number of errors; be motivated to eliminate the errors, and thus learn greater skill to notice even more errors. "If perfection is impossible that is no excuse for not trying"; don't settle for second-best.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
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10. Precision: "The narrowest statements slice deepest". Let your beliefs update precisely the correct amount for each new piece of evidence. Aim to make more precise claims, so you can be more aware of your errors.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
11. Scholarship: Accumulate knowledge about the world. Study things, especially math and scientist, but many others too.
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Aella
@Aella_Girl
12. "Before these eleven virtues is a virtue which is nameless" "Every step of your reasoning must cut through to the correct answer in the same movement." Know what you are here for; stay in contact with your goal. Be integrated, clear, and whole.
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