boggler — LessWrong

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boggler — LessWrong

Replying toA Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

boggler8y

A Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

Yes! This is what I was gesturing towards. I agree with this.

Replying toA Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

boggler8y

A Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

This is really cool! Thank you for sharing. I think micromorts will significantly help my intuition.

Replying toA Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

boggler8y

A Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

At least with regards to my own notions of "badass," I think this is only sometimes true. I do not think it is considered badass to watch a horror film, yet there is substantial S1 perceived risk.

Replying toA Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

boggler8y

A Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

I love the Chinese saying!

And your point is interesting. I believe my desire to ride a motorcycle stems from the motorcycle being seen as a cultural symbol of badassity as opposed from the inherent danger of riding a motorcycle. And, while badassity may coincide with danger, the two need not be correlated.

For example, I view skydiving as a symbol of badassity, but skydiving in relation to driving an automobile (generally not very badass) is quite safe.

I wonder if I am unusual in this respect, and perhaps it is more common to be attracted to motorcycling precisely because of the danger.

boggler8y

Although, I haven't explicitly done test-first programming, it appears as though it could be a great way to remove the trepidation. I do, however, often work on problem sets for school which come with pre-written tests, and I find myself mildly anxious before I run those tests on my code. Perhaps, the problem here is that I have internalized that code is "done" when the last line is written, as opposed to the test-first paradigm where "done" necessitates passing all the tests.

How do you feel in that space between completing your last line of code and running your first test?

boggler's Shortform Feed

boggler

For thoughts that fail to qualify to blog-post status. Thank you for the inspiration Hazard and zlrth.

boggler8yQuick Take

Noting: I feel trepidation towards testing my code. I believe this is because I suspect that my code has bugs and bugs are equated to debugging (i.e. work). Yet, once I get over my trepidation and test my code with all the supplied test cases, I become giddy and want to test everything. I believe this is because I feel that my code is free of bugs and every test is then a testament to what I've created. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

A Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident

boggler

Last week I saw a motorcycle accident.

My dad, known to be the most careful driver in my family, was attempting to pull out of the mall parking lot. Suddenly, a motorcyclist came into view, and as he saw our car, he stomped on the brakes. My dad saw him and stopped, but the motorcyclist had hit the brakes too hard and from his face - his eyes wider than I'd ever seen - I could tell he had lost control of his vehicle.

The motorcycle slipped and slid in front of our car as the motorcycle-man managed to somehow stay free of the cycle as he slammed into the concrete. There was a... (read 453 more words →)

How to not talk about probability estimates

boggler

I have recently begun asking for people's credence in interesting beliefs.

I was speaking with two of my peers at dinner yesterday, and our discussion chanced upon the topic of the existence of extraterrestrial life. Curious, I asked them what probability they would assign to the existence of life beyond Earth, and they both replied along the lines of "Definitely 100%. The universe is massive."

Surprised, I brought up the problematic corollary of having a 100% credence. "A belief of 100% probability in extraterrestrial life is equivalent to being unable to design a universe with all of our current knowledge of the world and which lacks extraterrestrial life. Yet, it is... (read 466 more words →)