Rationality and Precise Thinking (Ep. 57)

We’re pressured to have opinions on everything – but how do you know what your opinion actually represents?

In this episode, we’ll scratch the surface of rational thinking with an analysis of heuristics and how they can cause us to gloss over the details that lie beneath the shiny, symbolic veneer of what we call “beliefs”.

This is actually (mostly) a narration of a post I wrote several months ago. The subject matter is a bit less accessible than what I normally write about, but it’s something I personally care about and wanted to express. So I’m giving it a bit of new life with this episode.

After reading the article, I spend a few minutes explaining some of the concepts behind it and the path that led me to being interested in those concepts.

I hope you find it valuable in some way. We’ll be back to interviews next week!

Things mentioned in this episode:

• The original article – How to Avoid Black and White Thinking
• Less Wrong
• An Intuitive Explanation of Bayes’ Theorem
• The probabilistic nature of the Second Law of Thermodynamics

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