Conversations between David Deutsch and Lulie Tanett about topics ranging from emotions, AGI, reason and fun. Epistemology applied to everything. ”Reason Is Fun” is the idea that what is rational is the same as what is fun – that the fields of epistemology, morality and enjoyment are all deeply interconnected and compatible.
Lulie and David are joined by guest Mark Alexander, the Producer of Art of Accomplishment's Great Decisions course, to do a deeper dive into how decisions are made.
They discuss having competing wants, Popperian problem-solving, the difference between 'shoulds' and a non-coercive (fun!) version of morality, emotion, and the participation of different subconscious processes in decision making.
Mark asks "What are 'hangups'?", and David discusses mental blocks and how to get back to a creatively problem-solving state of mind. Lulie shares a problem she has with getting back to that creative place, namely: when do you go into your resisted feelings, and when do you analyse the problem?
00:00 Introducing: Lulie, David and Mark!
00:33 Competing wants vs 'shoulds'
02:23 Morality: coercive vs non-coercive
04:35 Why would we need the word 'should'?
05:55 Wants rest on morality!
06:51 Needle phobia example (of conflicting wants)
09:05 💩 Decision Theory, utilities, game theory
12:01 What guides creative decision-making?
12:54 What is a hangup?
14:58 Hangups, emotions, inexplicit vs explicit
21:12 Problems are pleasurable, fun
24:31 Feeling the feels unblocks creativity
25:45 Step #1: Feel better.
30:57 Lulie's struggle between emotion vs analysis
34:25 David interjects. "All things inside the mind worth calling 'mind' are creative."
35:50 ... What about the voice in the head?
41:00 What draws us forwards, towards good explanations?
42:42 Frustration
44:52 Do we ever have to suffer?
46:39 Hobgoblins, anti-rational memes
48:40 Details for the How to Make Great Decisions course by Art of Accomplishment
Memes article by David Deutsch: The Evolution of Culture (https://takingchildrenseriously.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/The-Evolution-of-Culture.pdf)
If you're looking to improve your relationship with decisions in 2024, Art of Accomplishment is offering its once-a-year Decisions course (https://view.life/Lulie) starting January 11th. (Sign-ups close this Monday January 8th.)
Discount code for $100 off:
LULIE100
I'll be a participant this year too, so this is a chance to do it alongside me as I share my own deep-dive journey there. Hope you'll join me!
3 Jan 2024
#4 - Decisions
Lulie and David chat about decision making. They discuss the roles of creativity, institutions and emotions in decision making, and the misconception that decisions are made by analysing data.
The conversation explores how decision making isn't a mechanical process, but rests on creative thinking. David criticises Decision Theory as a framework for decisions, and Lulie wonders to what extent decision-making requires emotion.
00:00 Introduction – we're BACK, baby!
00:59 Difficulties people have with decision making
01:46 The role of creativity in decisions
03:56 Do we ever "make decisions" when things are going well?
06:01 Decision Theory is not how we make choices (generally)
15:36 Are decisions emotions-based?
19:30 Principles (Art of Accomplishment's version)
23:59 Institutions (David's version)
28:25 Knowledge/thought is also needed!
34:50 Example from Lulie's life
39:36 Analytical, or emotional?
42:03 E-motions are needed for action (Lulie's hot take)
47:09 Acting, Method acting (Lulie's crackpot take)
53:47 Details for the How to Make Great Decisions course by Art of Accomplishment
If you're looking to improve your relationship with decisions in 2024, Art of Accomplishment is offering its once-a-year Decisions course (https://view.life/Lulie) starting January 11th. (Sign-ups close Monday January 8th.)
Discount code for $100 off:
LULIE100
I'll be a participant this year too, so this is a chance to do it alongside me as I share my own deep-dive journey there. Hope you'll join me!
3 Jun 2023
#3 - Inexplicit Ideas & Embodiment
Lulie asks David Deutsch more about inexplicit ideas, what it means to be an inexplicit idea, and the nature of internal language. They also debate whether cognition is embodied.
This is very much an 'into the jungle' episode, where neither of us know a lot about some of the topics discussed, but it's a lively conversation.
TWITTER
David Deutsch: https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/ (https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/)
Lulie Tanett: https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/ (https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/)
23 May 2023
#2 - Physics of Inexplicit Ideas
Lulie asks David Deutsch about how he came to the concept of 'inexplicit ideas' (knowledge that isn't in words), and it became a conversation about how inexplicit knowledge relates to quantum physics.
TWITTER
David Deutsch: https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/ (https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/)
Lulie Tanett: https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/ (https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/)
[The audio quality in this one isn't as pristine as last time, which had the lovely Sarah Melody Vinci doing sound mixing. I hope to get it sorted for future episodes! Also, apologies for the late update – I aim to release these every second Saturday, but this weekend was EAG.]
6 May 2023
#1 - Fun, Fury, Feeling
Lulie asks David Deutsch probing questions about the 'fun criterion', and they explore why it's necessary for rational thought.
They also discuss:
- Difference between mindless fun and fun-criterion 'fun'
- What about conflicts between explicit theories and what seems fun?
- What is suffering?
- Is anger good?
- Debating whether anger is an appropriate response to external suffering
- Creativity, conflicting theories and problems
- Do we need bodies and feelings to think?
- What makes the difference between enjoyable and suffering situations?
TWITTER
David Deutsch: https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/ (https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/)
Lulie Tanett: https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/ (https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/)
22 Apr 2023
#0 - Effective Altruism, X-risk, (e/acc)
Lulie asks physicist David Deutsch about the epistemology of Effective Altruism, how to make progress given the unpredictability of knowledge, and whether we should be concerned about existential risk.
In the second half, she asks about Effective Accelerationism (e/acc) – specifically, is its thermodynamic physics legit?
TWITTER
Lulie Tanett: @reasonisfun (https://twitter.com/reasonisfun)
David Deutsch: @DavidDeutschOxf (https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf)
Feat. @BasedBeffJezos (https://twitter.com/BasedBeffJezos)
Discuss this episode on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/status/1649904006418890754 (https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/status/1649904006418890754)
8 Apr 2023
#-1 - AGI (with David Deutsch)
Lulie asks physicist David Deutsch about his disagreements with the prevailing view on artificial general intelligence and modern AI.
They discuss:
• epistemology
• how AI differs from AGI
• limits of LLMs
• why the Turing Test is not a test.
TWITTER
David Deutsch: https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/ (https://twitter.com/DavidDeutschOxf/)
Lulie Tanett: https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/ (https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/)
Link to the episode on Twitter – Ask questions here: https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/status/1645528342509043713 (https://twitter.com/reasonisfun/status/1645528342509043713)
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Spotify
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43 ratings
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