I really wish more of us would accept that it's ok to base your belief system in a bedrock of unshakable, unquestionable, faith
it's fine, really! the trick is in choosing the right axioms, which is harder than it sounds.
for ex, i have never once believed magic could be really
I'm so completely sure of this that I'm willing to stake the entirety of my reputation on it, which is rather important to me, as someone who purports to be some sort of intellectual
how am I so sure? bc my article of faith is that the universe is comprehensible & deterministic
this may sound rather uninteresting at face value, but if you think through the consequences it easily discredits every single possible supernatural theory of action, as they all rely on some nondeterminstic mechanism
some may say I'm being intellectually dishonest in this way
after all, don't we have an obligation to consider every possible explanation for phenomena, to be open minded?
no! we absolutely do not! and by making that choice explicitly, we exchange options for power
willingly taking on constraints is a pro move
---
RT @pee_zombie
critically important to consider: the cognitive value of putting questions to rest
fully committing to certain courses of action, discretizing your confidence, allow…
https://twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/1367198355944857600
in some circles, such as a certain sort of rationalist, this is considered anathema; by permanently shutting off exploration of certain rhetorical branches we take on risks with massive potential downside
the thing is, it's a bet; a well-reasoned one, but a gamble nonetheless
in many senses, it's an irrational one. from an epistemic risk management perspective, it's the wrong choice; a sort of metaphysical Faustian bargain
a bargain made at the altar of reason itself; which do you value more, robustness or incisiveness? ultimately you must choose.
personally, I'm a bit of a risk-taker in this domain; I'm willing to accept the possibility of creating cognitive blind spots in exchange for gaining the ability to really plumb the depths of our cosmological uncertainty
for many others, it's the wrong choice, which is fine!
we all find out own optimal point in the space of epistemic postures, depending on our respective goals, constraints, and risk tolerances. it's only to be expected.
I just wish that some of us wouldn't act like my bargain is unreasonable.