“Wrong-way reductions” are a fallacy only smart people fall into: turning a messy tractable problem into a tidy impossible one.
-
-
Replying to @Meaningness
A real reduction turns a hard problem into an easy one. A wrong-way reduction is to an even hard one, with solution taken on faith.
1 reply 1 retweet 1 like -
Replying to @Meaningness
Example of wrong-way reduction: “encode all knowledge as logical axioms, then automated theorem-prover would give answer to all problems!”
2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes -
Replying to @Meaningness
We have total technical certainty that this cannot be done, but it’s still somehow an attractor in idea-space for a certain type of geek.
1 reply 1 retweet 2 likes -
Replying to @Meaningness
More-pertinent examples of wrong-way reductions: ethical utilitarianism; divine-command ethics; Bayesianism as general epistemology; etc.
2 replies 0 retweets 3 likes -
Replying to @Meaningness
It is sometimes difficult to know what’s ethical to do. It’s always impossible to calculate the utility consequences of actions.
1 reply 3 retweets 4 likes
@Meaningness Because the Feynman diagrams diverge, if nothing else. No renormalization group theory for ethics, said the farmer.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
. Banned in Sweden. SubGenius, Zhuangist, white-hat troll. Defrocked mathematician. Brain problems.