Comment by Nwallins on The Wonder of Evolution · 2010-11-06T01:25:22.801Z · LW · GW

But to praise evolution too highly destroys the real wonder, which is not how well evolution designs things, but that a naturally occurring process manages to design anything at all.

Yes, but this "naturally occurring process" suits itself very well to automation and discovery.

So let us dispose of the idea that evolution is a wonderful designer, or a wonderful conductor of species destinies, which we human beings ought to imitate. For human intelligence to imitate evolution as a designer, would be like a sophisticated modern bacterium trying to imitate the first replicator as a biochemist.

It's certainly not a wonderful designer. But it can be an efficient way solve problems without human decisions. Human intelligence should not imitate evolution as a designer, but machine intelligence may well benefit.

Comment by Nwallins on Fighting Akrasia: Incentivising Action · 2009-05-01T02:03:12.370Z · LW · GW

sware box

Do you mean "swear box"?. In any case, I think you should explain this term.

Comment by Nwallins on How Not to be Stupid: Adorable Maybes · 2009-05-01T02:01:33.184Z · LW · GW

yep.