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Scope Insensitivity

Edited by Eliezer Yudkowsky, Vladimir_Nesov, Grognor, PeerInfinity last updated 14th Mar 2012

The human brain can't emotionally represent large quantities; an environmental measure that will save 200,000 birds doesn't conjure anywhere near a hundred times the emotional impact and willingness-to-pay of a measure that would save 2,000 birds, even though in fact the former measure is two orders of magnitude more effective.

Blog posts

  • Scope Insensitivity
  • One Life Against the World
  • Useless Medical Disclaimers
  • Torture vs. Dust Specks

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Shut up and multiply
Emotion
Utilitarianism
Evolutionary psychology
Pascal's mugging
alief
Existential risk
Expected utility
Discussion2
Discussion2
Posts tagged Scope Insensitivity
349Scope Insensitivity
Eliezer Yudkowsky
18y
71
124One Life Against the World
Eliezer Yudkowsky
18y
84
85Torture vs. Dust Specks
Eliezer Yudkowsky
18y
630
68Boredom vs. Scope Insensitivity
Wei Dai
16y
40
22Scope Insensitivity Judo
Gordon Seidoh Worley
6y
3
13Scope insensitivity in juries
Scott Alexander
15y
1
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