General Thinking
Making Mistakes
Errors are the engine of learning.
Reductio ad Absurdum
Disproving via absurd conclusions.
Rapoport's Rules
Charitable criticism rules.
Sturgeon's Law
90% of everything is crud.
Occam's Razor
Do not multiply entities.
Occam's Broom
Sweeping facts under the rug.
Lay Audiences as Decoys
Explain simply to understand.
Jootsing
Jumping Out Of The System.
Three Species of Goulding
Rhetorical fallacies.
The "Surely" Operator
Warning sign for weak arguments.
Rhetorical Questions
Answer them literally.
What Is a Deepity?
Trivial/True vs Profound/False.
Meaning & Content
Murder in Trafalgar Square
Belief as abstraction.
Older Brother in Cleveland
Context creates meaning.
"Daddy Is a Doctor"
Understanding is a gradient.
Manifest/Scientific Image
Reconciling views of reality.
Folk Psychology
Predicting via beliefs/desires.
The Intentional Stance
Physical/Design/Intentional stances.
Personal/Sub-personal
Whole person vs brain parts.
Cascade of Homunculi
Breaking down intelligence.
The Sorta Operator
Fuzzy boundaries.
Wonder Tissue
Materialism vs Magic.
Robot Control Room
No pilot in the head.
Seven Secrets of Computer
Demystifying computation.
Virtual Machines
Software minds on hardware brains.
Algorithms
Mindless guaranteed processes.
Automating the Elevator
Emerging intelligence.
A Thing about Redheads
Typographical categories.
Wandering Two-Bitser
Meaning is functional.
Radical Translation
Indeterminacy of meaning.
Semantic/Syntactic Engines
Syntax mimics semantics.
Swampman
History defines identity.
Two Black Boxes
Function over mechanism.
Evolution
Universal Acid
Evolution transforms everything.
Library of Mendel
Vast possibility vs reality.
Genes as Subroutines
Genes as active code.
Tree of Life
Connectedness of life.
Cranes and Skyhooks
Natural vs miraculous lifting.
Competence w/o Comprehension
Skill before understanding.
Free-Floating Rationales
Reasons without reasoners.
Locusts and Primes
Evolution acts like math.
How to Explain Stotting
Costly signaling.
Prime Mammal
No sharp species boundaries.
When Does Speciation Occur?
Retrospective separation.
Mitochondrial Eve
Lineage survival logic.
Cycles
Iteration tools.
Frog's Eye
Environment defines meaning.
Library of Babel
Design space exploration.
Author of Spamlet
Authorship requires intent.
Noise in Virtual Hotel
Pseudo-randomness sufficiency.
Herb, Alice, Hal
Genetic trade-offs.
Memes
Cultural evolution.
Consciousness
Two Counter-images
Multiple Drafts vs Theater.
The Zombic Hunch
Function implies mind.
Zombies and Zimboes
We are self-monitoring zombies.
Curse of Cauliflower
No intrinsic qualia.
Vim: Real Money?
Qualia as user interface.
Mr. Clapgras
Recognition modularity.
The Tuned Deck
Illusion of free choice.
The Chinese Room
System speed creates mind.
Teleclone Fall
Identity as information.
Narrative Gravity
Self as abstraction.
Heterophenomenology
Subjective reports as text.
Mary the Color Scientist
Knowledge limits.
Free Will
Nefarious Neurosurgeon
Control vs Coercion.
Game of Life
Deterministic agency.
Rock Paper Scissors
Unpredictability as freedom.
Two Lotteries
Ignorance = Open Future.
Inert Historical Facts
Avoidability in determinism.
Chess Marathon
Deliberation as choice.
Ultimate Responsibility
Local vs Ultimate cause.
Sphexishness
Breaking the loop.
Boys from Brazil
Environment vs Genes.