Reality has a surprising amount of detail

forum.effectivealtruism.org · 2,598 words · saved by 2 readers

Note: I'm crossposting this because I often find myself referring to it in conversation. I often hear ideas or proposals that fail to account for the…

Note: I'm crossposting this because I often find myself referring to it in conversation. I often hear ideas or proposals that fail to account for the surprising amount of detail reality contains. Some of my own ideas and proposals fail for the same reason. While the stereotype of people in EA as head-in-the-clouds philosophers doesn't fit most people I've met in the movement, we should still recognize those tendencies in ourselves when they arise, and remember how small details can multiply or reverse the impact we expect to have. (Put another way, I think of this post as a clear…

Reality has a surprising amount of detail

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