“The tradition of rationality as passed down among real scientists, as opposed to the television sort, is about being willing to accept reality -— to find it in yourself to listen to the results of experiments, rather than the thousand voices of wishful thinking, politics, fear, et cetera. The modern technical definition of rationality breaks down into epistemic rationality (believing what is true) and instrumental rationality (steering the future where you want it to go). All of this is so far removed from the Hollywood version that it might as well be on another planet, and not one that can talk to us faster than light, either.”
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Eliezer Yudkowski talking to h+
Most of the rest is interesting too: Simplified Humanism, Positive Futurism & How to Prevent the Universe From Being Turned Into Paper Clips | h+ Magazine
