Posts

Comments

Comment by ewang on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 20, chapter 90 · 2013-07-04T03:23:31.663Z · LW · GW

Never mind, I see your point, although I still disagree with your conclusion on the grounds of narrative plausibility and good writing.

Comment by ewang on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 20, chapter 90 · 2013-07-04T03:21:34.147Z · LW · GW

Here's another, roughly isomorphic statement:

What is Gravity besides some form of superintelligence, or at least the remnants of superintelligence? The strongest evidence is that engineers and even physicists don't really have to understand how gravity actually works in order to use it. There is information entering the system from somewhere, and it's enough information to accurately detect when an object is unsupported or structurally unstable. And the chaotic side-effects tend to be improbably harmful. It's like an almost-Friendly, or perhaps a broken previously-Friendly, AI. Possibly the result of some ancient Singularity that is no longer explicitly remembered.

Comment by ewang on Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Argument · 2013-02-19T03:39:36.365Z · LW · GW

I find it rather irritating when someone does this every time I use the words "soul" or "God" in a rhetorical context.

I believe in neither, but both words have their uses.

Comment by ewang on What's your hypothetical apostasy? · 2013-02-16T16:25:15.645Z · LW · GW

Actually, I think the issue is a misunderstanding of what apostasy is in the first place.

Comment by ewang on [LINK] Open Source Software Developer with Terminal Illness Hopes to Opt Out of Death · 2013-02-14T04:54:31.488Z · LW · GW

Science most definitely does not mean: "Let's try something random today and see what happens".

That does seem to be how mathematics works, though.

Comment by ewang on Isolated AI with no chat whatsoever · 2013-01-29T04:24:13.036Z · LW · GW

It is a hypothetical situation of unreasonably high security that tries to probe for an upper bound on the level of containment required to secure an AI.

Comment by ewang on Isolated AI with no chat whatsoever · 2013-01-29T02:11:38.013Z · LW · GW

If an isolated AI can easily escape in any circumstance, it really doesn't make sense to train gatekeepers.

Comment by ewang on Infinitesimals: Another argument against actual infinite sets · 2013-01-27T17:57:28.082Z · LW · GW

Replace "tangentially" with "about as much as basically any other thing".

Comment by ewang on Infinitesimals: Another argument against actual infinite sets · 2013-01-27T17:44:56.208Z · LW · GW

Actually, it is; while the post is clogged with outdated ideas and plays fast and loose with the meaning of existence, I wouldn't want to see a slew of actually sound arguments about basic set theory clogging up Discussion, either.

Comment by ewang on Infinitesimals: Another argument against actual infinite sets · 2013-01-26T19:21:23.302Z · LW · GW

I think three posts is enough for something only tangentially related to rationality.

Comment by ewang on How to signal curiosity? · 2013-01-12T02:00:35.772Z · LW · GW

"Signaling" is a term that we've given a more precise definition than the other two.

Comment by ewang on [SEQ RERUN] Visualizing Eutopia · 2013-01-05T00:42:22.606Z · LW · GW

raise everyone's IQ by ten points

The average IQ is defined to be constant.

Comment by ewang on Can infinite quantities exist? A philosophical approach · 2013-01-04T01:49:08.432Z · LW · GW

If you're going to dodge defining existence, please at least clarify your point by telling us which of these things "exist":

a) irrational numbers

b) sets

c) postmodernism

d) the number of Langford pairings of length 100

e) negative numbers

f) quaternions

Comment by ewang on [Link] Hey Extraverts: Enough is Enough · 2013-01-03T16:00:48.058Z · LW · GW

(And FYI, that’s the proper spelling: "homosexual" is common but wrong, because omo- is the proper Greek prefix.)

Comment by ewang on Politics Discussion Thread January 2013 · 2013-01-03T05:59:19.408Z · LW · GW

One reason gender politics is especially "mind-killing" is that the two least interesting/statistically significant/improbable positions (males are more THIS than females, females more THAT than males) also happen to be the two positions seen as the "strongest".

Comment by ewang on Implications of an infinite versus a finite universe · 2012-12-21T20:07:29.272Z · LW · GW

Sorry, but "this'll probably get down voted, but" just doesn't work here.

Comment by ewang on One thousand tips do not make a system · 2012-11-30T05:55:11.106Z · LW · GW

It's refreshing to see the non-anastrophic arrangement in the title.

What LessWrong would call the "system" of rationality is the rigorous mathematical application of Bayes' Theorem. The "one thousand tips" you speak of are what we get when we apply this system to itself to quickly guess its behavior under certain conditions, as carrying around a calculator and constantly applying the system in everyday life is rather impractical.

Comment by ewang on [META] Retributive downvoting: Why? · 2012-11-27T23:45:15.277Z · LW · GW

Well.

Comment by ewang on [META] Retributive downvoting: Why? · 2012-11-27T03:53:23.063Z · LW · GW

I'd try removing the voting buttons from the user page; the effort required to click the permalink should deter most of these serial downvoters.

Comment by ewang on The Evil AI Overlord List · 2012-11-21T00:33:22.286Z · LW · GW

I have done so.

I can better serve you if I continue doing so.

Comment by ewang on How well defined is ADHD? · 2012-11-16T01:58:53.669Z · LW · GW

I've heard another anecdote from someone with ADHD that ritalin helps you focus at the cost of YOUR SOUL.

Comment by ewang on How well defined is ADHD? · 2012-11-16T01:55:55.958Z · LW · GW

Just wait until "fgebatyl cerqvpgvir" starts working its way into the back of the subject's brain.

Comment by ewang on NKCDT: The Big Bang Theory · 2012-11-11T06:19:54.440Z · LW · GW

I'm not against karma, but it's the reason why the largest subreddits have turned into trash.

Comment by ewang on NKCDT: The Big Bang Theory · 2012-11-10T17:25:55.966Z · LW · GW

I feel that the Big Bang Theory is just another name for "Sheldon Says the Darnedest Things".

Comment by ewang on Guessing game -how low can you go? · 2012-11-01T02:55:12.616Z · LW · GW

1000, because nobody here seems to have an interest in actually participating.

Comment by ewang on The Problem With Rational Wiki · 2012-10-27T04:27:47.725Z · LW · GW

RationalWiki is a wiki because it was made with the sole intent to make fun of Conservapedia.

Comment by ewang on The Problem With Rational Wiki · 2012-10-27T04:26:08.175Z · LW · GW

When I come across a pseudoscience I haven't seen before, I usually go to Google first to check its position with regard to reality.

Then I go to its RationalWiki article for entertainment. This is essential if I don't want to spend the rest of the day fuming at how many people "actually believe in that stuff".

Comment by ewang on [LINK] AI-boxing Is News, Somehow · 2012-10-20T18:04:54.195Z · LW · GW

As a Dwarf Fortress player, I'd prefer using "&" to warn about AI hazards rather than "@".

Comment by ewang on Good transhumanist fiction? · 2012-10-13T16:01:57.154Z · LW · GW

I'd say that the article is arguing, if it is at all about transhumanism, that James Bond is "transhumanizing", rather than transhumanist in itself.

Comment by ewang on [Link] Scientists to simulate human brain inside a supercomputer · 2012-10-13T15:52:20.245Z · LW · GW

Anyone looking for more information should search for the term "Blue Brain Project", as the project had (under that name) actually achieved something.

Comment by ewang on A possible solution to pascals mugging. · 2012-10-13T02:18:38.907Z · LW · GW

What do we do when there is a very tiny (2^-x) chance that THIS random thing has incredibly huge (O(3^^^^3)) importance?

Comment by ewang on [Link] Learning New Languages Helps The Brain Grow · 2012-10-12T03:35:33.634Z · LW · GW

Shooting skeet eight hours a month was excellent training for them. It trained them to shoot skeet.

Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Comment by ewang on Walking and Chewing Gum · 2012-10-06T04:21:25.347Z · LW · GW

Smoking isn't very rational. That's why some people here who've never smoked chew the gum instead.

Comment by ewang on Open Thread, October 1-15, 2012 · 2012-10-05T03:00:49.917Z · LW · GW

It's more of a quantum computing development. Perhaps a more appropriate title would be "Quantum measurements leave Schrodinger's Cat in an ambiguous state while telling us just how ambiguous the state is".

Comment by ewang on Walking and Chewing Gum · 2012-10-05T02:40:28.138Z · LW · GW

From what I've heard about the demographics here, you might want to ask whether the gum contains nicotine.

Comment by ewang on Open Thread, October 1-15, 2012 · 2012-10-04T23:41:21.674Z · LW · GW

If it's not a paradox, that the logic behind it works should never be interesting. How it works is another story.

Comment by ewang on Open Thread, October 1-15, 2012 · 2012-10-04T23:14:50.430Z · LW · GW

I've heard that test repeatedly labeled as the "only personality test on the internet that works", but I can't really find many other Myers-Briggs tests.

Comment by ewang on Cognitive bias and conservatism · 2012-10-04T00:15:53.392Z · LW · GW

We generally don't take well to Reddit-style politics. It usually degrades quickly into a "circlejerk", which is what our goal here is to avoid.

Comment by ewang on Shutting up and doing the impossible: Leslie Gordon · 2012-09-26T23:01:04.416Z · LW · GW

The most obvious examples I can think of are the countless amateur mathematicians that tried to square the circle.

Comment by ewang on Memes? · 2012-09-23T04:48:13.932Z · LW · GW

If I recall correctly, the concept of "memes" was invented to illustrate the universality of Darwinian evolution in non-genetic systems, rather than as an attempt to explain results or make predictions.

Comment by ewang on Less Wrong Polls in Comments · 2012-09-22T05:34:42.238Z · LW · GW

Point already raised and discussed, see below.

Comment by ewang on Less Wrong Polls in Comments · 2012-09-22T05:33:20.405Z · LW · GW

Mean 1.69172935902e+16

What use is the mean if anyone can just do something like this?

Comment by ewang on Random LW-parodying Statement Generator · 2012-09-11T22:47:41.550Z · LW · GW

a million dollars is the mind-killer

So, scope insensitivity?

Comment by ewang on Cryonics donation fund for Kim Suozzi established by Society for Venturism · 2012-08-25T22:15:19.751Z · LW · GW

Around $7000 as of yesterday.

http://suozlogs.wordpress.com/

Comment by ewang on Proposed rewrites of LW home page, about page, and FAQ · 2012-08-18T01:18:31.488Z · LW · GW

Click the highlighted up/down hand to remove the vote.

Comment by ewang on [SEQ RERUN] Magical Categories · 2012-08-14T01:16:47.500Z · LW · GW

The amount of time it would take to get a reasonable dataset would likely exceed the projected lifespan of the universe, I imagine.

Comment by ewang on [deleted post] 2012-08-09T16:04:15.094Z

The basilisk is, in short, a piece of information that describes the terrible things that would happen to you if you knew that piece of information.

Comment by ewang on Russian plan for immortality [link] · 2012-08-02T17:28:23.274Z · LW · GW

Similarly, internet usage is indirectly correlated with life expectancy, although the correlation isn't anywhere near strong enough to make reasonable judgments of one from the other.

Comment by ewang on A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior - free Coursera class · 2012-07-17T19:59:14.728Z · LW · GW

This isn't Reddit; posts generally should be more than just a link and a quote.

Comment by ewang on Eliezer apparently wrong about higgs boson · 2012-07-17T19:56:20.190Z · LW · GW

There isn't much to discuss here, especially since Eliezer has not made a statement regarding his current position on the issue.