Epistemic self-sufficiency on the edge of knowledge

post by whpearson · 2018-01-14T18:44:39.861Z · LW · GW · 0 comments

Winning an argument does not give you evidence that you are correct. Passing a security audit does not give you evidence you are secure. Inventing something doesn't mean a culture is great.

You are just a bag of mostly water. Your default expectation should be that you are not even wrong, but don't have the right concepts to be right or wrong about.

Other people are not obliged to correct you, for they are also bags of mostly water that also might not have the right concepts to be right or wrong about them.

You must be trying to correct yourself. Figure out when you are likely to be wrong or just not know enough, and somehow find the information you need to continue.

It is nice when they people can correct you, but do not expect or rely on it from other people. The further you go from the well travelled locations the more you will need to check your own knowledge and look for travelling partners that do the same.

You will need to consult with people that have different knowledge to you. Pull in botanists/meteorologists/geologists. Anyone that might have generic knowledge about the regularities of the world. But that knowledge may or may not apply to the new locations you want to go to.

If you are not drawing the information you acquire on your travels on the public map, no one will be able to correct your bad information. If you draw bad information on the public map, in order to get people to correct you, people will not have faith in any of the information you try to draw.

Look at your knowledge with a skeptical eye.

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