The Nonlinear Library LW - Choosing My Quest (Part 2 of "The Sense Of Physical Necessity") by LoganStrohl
Feb 24, 2024
17:27
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Choosing My Quest (Part 2 of "The Sense Of Physical Necessity"), published by LoganStrohl on February 24, 2024 on LessWrong.
This is the second post in a sequence that demonstrates a complete naturalist study, specifically a study of query hugging (sort of), as described in The Nuts and Bolts of Naturalism. This one demos phase zero, all the preparation that's often needed before you can really get to work. It corresponds to the how-to posts "Getting Started With Naturalism" and "Catching the Spark". For context on this sequence, see the intro post.
The Dead Words Of Others
At the outset of any naturalist study, original seeing and curiosity are paramount. If they're already present - and they aren't crowded out by other concerns, such as a desperation to solve your problem as quickly as possible - then you can dive right in. Otherwise, some deliberate cultivation is needed.
Where did I stand with original seeing and curiosity, at the beginning of this study? I was pretty low on both.
There was this whole coherent concept, "hug the query", handed to me from the outside by a clear and well-written essay that did not leave me feeling confused. I could tell there was something in there that I wanted to engage with, somehow; but for the most part, my understanding was relatively inert.
If I wanted to transform that seed of interest into a study that was live, growing, and really mine, it was going to take some work. As I said in the introduction, I had to forget what I already knew so I could see it all again, this time entirely for myself.
Methodological Note
There is a skillset that I call "making fake things real". I'm not sure that's a good name for it; it's just what I call it inside my own head.
Imagine you're in middle school, and you've been assigned a group project. You and the three other people at your table have to make a poster about the Ottoman Empire.
Does this project matter?
No. Of course it doesn't.
I mean sure, maybe we could argue a little bit for the value of knowing history in order to predict the future, or developing social skills, or learning endurance and tenacity in the face of the pointless tedium you will inevitably face in your future nine to five. I even hear that graphic design is still a marketable skill (for now).
But let's be real. The reason you have to make a poster about the Ottoman Empire is that your teacher has a list of topics the state requires her to cover with you, and she has to fill your time somehow. She probably does not care about the Ottoman Empire any more than you do. She's just keeping you busy until the bell rings.
It seems to me that in this situation, you have three kinds of strategies to choose from.
1. FakeFake
2. FakeFuck Off
3. FakeReal
FakeFake: In one type of strategy, you accept the fake thing, and you do something fake with it. This might mean reluctantly, grudgingly participating in the project, dragging your feet and putting in the bare minimum, but ultimately fulfilling the requirements as stated. You got a bullshit assignment, you made a bullshit poster, nothing matters and nobody cares.
Or, it might mean roleplaying a model student, making a beautiful poster full of Interesting Facts, and thereby ensuring that your streak of straight As is not interrupted. That is a different kind of bullshit, and in a way it's worse: Nothing matters, nobody cares, and nobody notices.
FakeFuck Off: In the second category of options, you reject the fake thing entirely. You do not make the poster at all. You boycott.
I took this option a lot in school myself: I refused to do homework, refused to take timed tests, refused to let adults who were dumber than me determine how I spent my time and attention. They thought I had ADD, but in fact I had integrity.
(Also autism.)
There's something beautiful in the boycotting approa...
This is the second post in a sequence that demonstrates a complete naturalist study, specifically a study of query hugging (sort of), as described in The Nuts and Bolts of Naturalism. This one demos phase zero, all the preparation that's often needed before you can really get to work. It corresponds to the how-to posts "Getting Started With Naturalism" and "Catching the Spark". For context on this sequence, see the intro post.
The Dead Words Of Others
At the outset of any naturalist study, original seeing and curiosity are paramount. If they're already present - and they aren't crowded out by other concerns, such as a desperation to solve your problem as quickly as possible - then you can dive right in. Otherwise, some deliberate cultivation is needed.
Where did I stand with original seeing and curiosity, at the beginning of this study? I was pretty low on both.
There was this whole coherent concept, "hug the query", handed to me from the outside by a clear and well-written essay that did not leave me feeling confused. I could tell there was something in there that I wanted to engage with, somehow; but for the most part, my understanding was relatively inert.
If I wanted to transform that seed of interest into a study that was live, growing, and really mine, it was going to take some work. As I said in the introduction, I had to forget what I already knew so I could see it all again, this time entirely for myself.
Methodological Note
There is a skillset that I call "making fake things real". I'm not sure that's a good name for it; it's just what I call it inside my own head.
Imagine you're in middle school, and you've been assigned a group project. You and the three other people at your table have to make a poster about the Ottoman Empire.
Does this project matter?
No. Of course it doesn't.
I mean sure, maybe we could argue a little bit for the value of knowing history in order to predict the future, or developing social skills, or learning endurance and tenacity in the face of the pointless tedium you will inevitably face in your future nine to five. I even hear that graphic design is still a marketable skill (for now).
But let's be real. The reason you have to make a poster about the Ottoman Empire is that your teacher has a list of topics the state requires her to cover with you, and she has to fill your time somehow. She probably does not care about the Ottoman Empire any more than you do. She's just keeping you busy until the bell rings.
It seems to me that in this situation, you have three kinds of strategies to choose from.
1. FakeFake
2. FakeFuck Off
3. FakeReal
FakeFake: In one type of strategy, you accept the fake thing, and you do something fake with it. This might mean reluctantly, grudgingly participating in the project, dragging your feet and putting in the bare minimum, but ultimately fulfilling the requirements as stated. You got a bullshit assignment, you made a bullshit poster, nothing matters and nobody cares.
Or, it might mean roleplaying a model student, making a beautiful poster full of Interesting Facts, and thereby ensuring that your streak of straight As is not interrupted. That is a different kind of bullshit, and in a way it's worse: Nothing matters, nobody cares, and nobody notices.
FakeFuck Off: In the second category of options, you reject the fake thing entirely. You do not make the poster at all. You boycott.
I took this option a lot in school myself: I refused to do homework, refused to take timed tests, refused to let adults who were dumber than me determine how I spent my time and attention. They thought I had ADD, but in fact I had integrity.
(Also autism.)
There's something beautiful in the boycotting approa...