What's the exact wording and origin of the "when you don't know what to choose, choose power" quote?
I'm looking for a piece in the rationalist sphere, I think from 2018.
The section I remember talks about how if someone asks you what you're watching on TV, that updates your model of the world in several simultaneous ways, some true and some not. The point of the piece is that you can't "just tell the truth." No matter what you do or say, you will update people in the correct way, but also update people in other incorrect ways.
I thought it was called "You can't just tell the truth" or "The Impossibility of Just Telling the Truth" or something like this, but I'm not finding anything
That's a fine point! I think I understand pretty well why there's usually not sexual attraction between people of the same sex...If you take "love" and subtract the sex part out of it, is that what a close friendship looks like, or is there more to it than that?
An important lesson. At the same time, it can go both ways, at least, when applied broadly. Maybe the nuance to include is that slowness is for training and for learning. In the moment when you want maximum output right NOW, pushing to the limit will usually out-compete going slowly. So, methodical training, to-the-limit performance
I get a lot of mileage out of using Rationalist Taboo, or out of thinking about concepts rather than about words.
All of the following hot-button questions are very easily solved using this technique. As Scott Alexander points out, you can get a reputation as a daring and original thinker just by using this one thing over and over again, one of the best Hammers in the rationality community.
I am indeed repeating myself. New descriptions and examples pointing at the same concept over and over. Is that a problem?
Warp sounds right. I'm picturing an uneven lens type of thing that exaggerates some things and diminishes others as you look through it
Thank you, he speaks about some very interesting things. It's possible that, as you say, he has great in-person speaking power.
I've definitely seen exactly this in large group dynamics. In 1-on-1 conversations, or maybe even with 3 or 4 people, I've seen chill conversations where people regularly pause for maybe up to 10 seconds before being interrupted.
"once those things get a little bit smart they're not going to stop at a little bit smart for very long they're gonna be unbelievably smart like overnight. "
Celebrity opinions count for something in ways that expert opinions do not. They seem to reach more people, for one thing. That's partially because people just accept what celebrities say because they admire them, but it seems to me that it's also because celebrities tend to find ways of expressing the essence of ideas that are more accessible to laypeople.
Anyway, for whatever the reason, celebrities who openly express their opinions can make a difference, and I think we should celebrate when one of them gets something right and is willing to talk about it.