From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Mon Mar 15 1999 - 21:01:44 MST
"I'm not willing to believe that everything is made out of these tiny
whizzing atoms. Well, I'm willing to believe that uranium is, because
physicists have demonstrated that they can use it to vaporize cities."
- Dave Barry
When economists can do something cool - instead of scurrying around
producing contradictory explanations, incorrect predictions, and
hideously failed recommendations - they'll get the public's respect.
Until then, no matter how much economists try to imitate the jargon,
titles, and procedures of scientists, and no matter how many volumes of
ANOVAed statistics they produce to hide the lack of any high-level
rules, the public will rightly regard them as being on a level with astrologers.
I believe in science because science has produced technology. No
technology, it isn't science. And that also goes for superstring
theory, but physicists get the benefit of the doubt, from the media if
not from me, because vaporizing cities is so impressive.
--
sentience@pobox.com Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
http://pobox.com/~sentience/AI_design.temp.html
http://pobox.com/~sentience/singul_arity.html
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise specified, I'm not telling you
everything I think I know.
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