#epistemology #rationality #cooperation # [[Epistemic status]] #shower-thought # Words are worthless ![[5D26BE2E-3415-4FD0-866D-2CE0AD87E6D0.png]] ~ [[Eliezer Yudkowsky]] Words can transmit [[Information|information]], but are a very inefficient way to communicate the [[Mental model|model]]s in your head, your [[Philosophy/Epistemology/Knowledge|knowledge]]. >Stuart Chase and others have come near to claiming that all abstract words are meaningless, and have used this as a pretext for advocating a kind of political quietism. Since you don’t know what Fascism is, how can you struggle against Fascism? >~ [[Eliezer Yudkowsky]] I am always amazed by people discussing difficult topics such as [[Philosophy/Rationality/Intelligence|intelligence]] or [[Philosophy/Consciousness/Consciousness|consciousness]], without properly affirming what each and every abstract words they use meant for them. So it’s like a cow trying to talk to a monkey, it just leads to nonsense. >Is there any idea in science that you are proud of believing, though you do not use the belief professionally? You had best ask yourself which future experiences your belief prohibits from happening to you. That is the sum of what you have assimilated and made a true part of yourself. Anything else is probably passwords or attire. ~ [[Eliezer Yudkowsky]] >“Un homme se mesure au poids de ses actes, pas à la longueur de ses phrases.” >~ [[Pierre Bottero]] ## The subjectivity of words >We must distinguish between, on the one hand, our **subjective experiences or our feelings of conviction**, which can never justify any statement (though they can be made the subject of psychological investigation) and, on the other hand, the **objective logical relations subsisting among the various systems of scientific statements**, and within each of them >~ [[Karl Popper]] Again, words and even sentences that you share are tightly related to your subjective experience of the world, to make your [[Philosophy/Epistemology/Knowledge|knowledge]] shareable and understandable, you need to make it fit in the mind of others. Don’t try to square the circle.