Difference between revisions of "Reality is normal"
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|Eliezer Yudkowsky|[http://yudkowsky.net/rational/technical A Technical Explanation of Technical Explanation]}} | |Eliezer Yudkowsky|[http://yudkowsky.net/rational/technical A Technical Explanation of Technical Explanation]}} | ||
| − | If at any point some truth should seem shocking or bizarre, [[Mind projection fallacy|it's your brain that labels it as such]]; reality simply is what it is. [[Surprise]] is the measure of a poor hypothesis; a good model puts probability mass on outcomes that are more likely to actually occur. If your model of reality consistently makes bad | + | If at any point some truth should seem shocking or bizarre, [[Mind projection fallacy|it's your brain that labels it as such]]; reality simply is what it is. [[Surprise]] is the measure of a poor hypothesis; a good model puts probability mass on outcomes that are more likely to actually occur. If your model of reality consistently makes bad predictions — if the the real world seems utterly strange or surreal to your intuitions — then it's your intuitions that need to change; the world isn't going to. '''Reality is normal'''. |
==Blog posts== | ==Blog posts== | ||
| − | *[http://lesswrong.com/lw/hs/think_like_reality/ Think Like Reality] | + | |
| + | *[http://lesswrong.com/lw/hs/think_like_reality/ Think Like Reality] | ||
| + | *[http://lesswrong.com/lw/ht/beware_the_unsurprised/ Beware the Unsurprised] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[[Egan's law]] | ||
| + | *[[Joy in the merely real]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:Jargon]] | ||
Latest revision as of 11:58, 25 February 2012
There is a shattering truth, so surprising and terrifying that people resist the implications with all their strength. Yet there are a lonely few with the courage to accept this satori. Here is wisdom, if you would be wise:
- Since the beginning
- Not one unusual thing
- Has ever happened.
—Eliezer Yudkowsky, A Technical Explanation of Technical Explanation
If at any point some truth should seem shocking or bizarre, it's your brain that labels it as such; reality simply is what it is. Surprise is the measure of a poor hypothesis; a good model puts probability mass on outcomes that are more likely to actually occur. If your model of reality consistently makes bad predictions — if the the real world seems utterly strange or surreal to your intuitions — then it's your intuitions that need to change; the world isn't going to. Reality is normal.
