Where Science Went Wrong (hilarious web site)

I stumbled upon this essay on the web, and it was too good not to
sha

http://lesswrong.com/lw/p0/to_spread...eep_it_secret/

John Savard

On May 5, 6:50*pm, Quadibloc wrote:
I stumbled upon this essay on the web, and it was too good not to
sha

http://lesswrong.com/lw/p0/to_spread...eep_it_secret/

Yes it is hilarious. Also completely wrong-headed -- for reasons
people already explained in the comment section.

On May 6, 7:35*am, Ilya2 wrote:

Yes it is hilarious. Also completely wrong-headed -- for reasons
people already explained in the comment section.

I thought the article itself, near the end, gave the reasons why, in
the real world, such a thing would be wrong-headed.

Basically, if science were kept mysterious and secret... people
wouldn't know what kind of skills were needed to master it. So the
scientific priesthood would have the most difficult time getting new
recruits.

Of course, also, this sort of thing is anti-democratic. If a
scientific priesthood could protect us from being blown up in a
nuclear war started by politicians, it would be a good thing. But
there were _scientists_ among those who had the silly idea that the
world would benefit from Stalin having the atomic bomb too instead of
just the United States. Which pretty much rubbishes the theory that
scientists are more fit to rule than even people like Ronald Reagan
and George W. Bush... when they, unlike the scientists, are at least
kept on a leash by the electorate.

John Savard

On May 6, 1:50*am, Quadibloc wrote:
I stumbled upon this essay on the web, and it was too good not to
sha

http://lesswrong.com/lw/p0/to_spread...eep_it_secret/

John Savard

Strangely, this is the second "Less Wrong" article I ran into in the
last hour. The first was a piece of supposed Harry Potter fan fiction
(I think it's just using the HP-verse to explore some argument in
narrative form) I ran into in the comment section in Charles Stross'
blog. Coincidence? Or did you follow the same path, then found this
article while browsing the Less wrong website?

While on the subject, Yudkowsky wrote a brilliant story called "Three
World Collide" that explores moral relativism and rationality, through
a first encounter scenario in a far-future space opera setting. Very
thought provoking, and also very funny:

http://lesswrong.com/lw/y4/three_worlds_collide_08/

In article ,
Michael Grosberg wrote:
Strangely, this is the second "Less Wrong" article I ran into in the
last hour. The first was a piece of supposed Harry Potter fan fiction
(I think it's just using the HP-verse to explore some argument in
narrative form) I ran into in the comment section in Charles Stross'
blog.

No, your parenthesis is quite wrong. Yudkowsky is doing nothing less
than rewriting _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ from top
to bottom, changing things so that they're more pleasing to him.
("In what weird alternative universe would that girl not be Sorted
into Ravenclaw? If Hermione Granger didn't go to Ravenclaw then there
was no good reason for Ravenclaw House to exist.")

This means having a hero who's a rationalist. Having Harry Potter be
an 11-year-old who can plausibly be a rationalist creates other effects,
which in turn ripples through the whole plot, changing everything.

So while it is unabashedly propaganda for rational thought, it is
definitely fan *fiction*, not just exploring arguments. And
well-written, entertaining fiction at that. (It wouldn't have gone as
viral as it has, if it weren't.) Anyone who enjoys LWE's books
because they feature smart characters should check it out.

While on the subject, Yudkowsky wrote a brilliant story called "Three
World Collide" that explores moral relativism and rationality, through
a first encounter scenario in a far-future space opera setting. Very
thought provoking, and also very funny:

http://lesswrong.com/lw/y4/three_worlds_collide_08/

I'll have to have a look at that.

--
David Goldfarb | "LUM-ber. *heh!* *heh!*"
|
| -- Scott McCloud, "Some Words Albert Likes"

On May 6, 11:57*pm, (David Goldfarb) wrote:
In article ,
Michael Grosberg wrote:

Strangely, this is the second "Less Wrong" article I ran into in the
last hour. The first was a piece of supposed Harry Potter fan fiction
(I think it's just using the HP-verse to explore some argument in
narrative form) I ran into in the comment section in Charles Stross'
blog.

No, your parenthesis is quite wrong. *Yudkowsky is doing nothing less
than rewriting _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ from top
to bottom, changing things so that they're more pleasing to him.

I'm working my way through it now.It's brilliant - yesterday it kept
me awake up until 2:00 AM. The reason I'm wary of calling it fan is
fiction because of the "fan" part of fan fiction, not because it
wasn't proper fiction. Yudkowsky takes everything the readers of HP
(and Rowling herself) hold dear, and smashes it to little pieces, sets
it on fire, then stomps on the remains, singing a happy tune all the
while. I love it, but then I'm not a Rowling fan, only read that first
book and didn;t like it much.

Michael Grosberg wrote:
On May 6, 11:57 pm, (David Goldfarb) wrote:
In article ,
Michael Grosberg wrote:

Strangely, this is the second "Less Wrong" article I ran into in the
last hour. The first was a piece of supposed Harry Potter fan fiction
(I think it's just using the HP-verse to explore some argument in
narrative form) I ran into in the comment section in Charles Stross'
blog.
No, your parenthesis is quite wrong. Yudkowsky is doing nothing less
than rewriting _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ from top
to bottom, changing things so that they're more pleasing to him.

I'm working my way through it now.It's brilliant - yesterday it kept
me awake up until 2:00 AM. The reason I'm wary of calling it fan is
fiction because of the "fan" part of fan fiction, not because it
wasn't proper fiction.

You're either a fan or a masochist to do that much work over a series.


--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://seawasp.livejournal.com

On May 6, 3:57*pm, (David Goldfarb) wrote:
In article ,
Michael Grosberg wrote:

Strangely, this is the second "Less Wrong" article I ran into in the
last hour. The first was a piece of supposed Harry Potter fan fiction
(I think it's just using the HP-verse to explore some argument in
narrative form) I ran into in the comment section in Charles Stross'
blog.

No, your parenthesis is quite wrong. *Yudkowsky is doing nothing less
than rewriting _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ from top
to bottom, changing things so that they're more pleasing to him.
("In what weird alternative universe would that girl not be Sorted
into Ravenclaw? If Hermione Granger didn't go to Ravenclaw then there
was no good reason for Ravenclaw House to exist.")

This means having a hero who's a rationalist. *Having Harry Potter be
an 11-year-old who can plausibly be a rationalist creates other effects,
which in turn ripples through the whole plot, changing everything.

So while it is unabashedly propaganda for rational thought, it is
definitely fan *fiction*, not just exploring arguments. *And
well-written, entertaining fiction at that. *(It wouldn't have gone as
viral as it has, if it weren't.) *Anyone who enjoys LWE's books
because they feature smart characters should check it out.

And having said that. Neither of you gives a link to the story!

DougL

In article ,
DougL wrote:
On May 6, 3:57*pm, (David Goldfarb) wrote:
it is definitely fan *fiction*, not just exploring arguments. And
well-written, entertaining fiction at that.

And having said that. Neither of you gives a link to the story!

If only there were some way of searching for web pages containing
key words or phrases, such as a story's title....

Okay, okay:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality

--
David Goldfarb |"Newsgroups trimmed back to rec.arts.sf.written,
| in the hope of subverting society's traditional
| values in a more focussed, netiquette-aware
| fashion." -- Patrick Nielsen Hayden

On Tue, 11 May 2010 06:04:30 GMT, (David
Goldfarb) wrote:

In article ,
DougL wrote:
On May 6, 3:57*pm, (David Goldfarb) wrote:
it is definitely fan *fiction*, not just exploring arguments. And
well-written, entertaining fiction at that.

And having said that. Neither of you gives a link to the story!

If only there were some way of searching for web pages containing
key words or phrases, such as a story's title....

Okay, okay:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality

Hilarious!

Chapter 4 was a hoot! Literal LOL and it takes a *lot* to do
that to me. I particularly liked "On the other hand, one competent
hedge fundie could probably own the whole wizarding world within a
week. Harry filed away this notion in case he ever ran out of money,
or had a week free." I love the or-phrase just casually dropped in
there.

I also like the chapter titles.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko