Beliefs
The Inquisitive Neurologist posts a "non-exhaustive list of my beliefs and opinions, both conventional and unusual (or worse)." [faré]
- IQ is the best known measure of cognitive ability, predicts lifetime success in many domains, is predominantly genetically determined in modern populations, and systematically differs between various ethnic groups
- evolution is a fact, not a theory
- there is no god around these parts, and even if there was, he/she/it would not be somebody worthy of invitation for dinner, much less worship
- espousing the three opinions above is enough to make you a pariah almost everywhere
...
- it bears repeating that non-initiation of violence is the only criterion for differentiating between good and evil
Interesting, but..
I've no problem with most of the statements in his list but this gives me pause:
"if I ever get root access to my mind, about 70% of it will be
removed in the first round of modding"
The question naturally arises: who is doing the removing?
As the saying goes, the first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces.
So my first round of self-mind-hacking would be ultra-conservative, with fail-safe rollback to frequently-taken backups, and consist entirely of strengthening obvious weak spots - better memory, laser-like sustained concentration on demand, etc. The quirky tendencies that seem to have no useful role would be treated with wary caution, like a strange insect that probably has some ecological role in my neurolical garden but I'm not sure exactly where.
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