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Zelalem Mekonnen

@zelalem-mekonnen·Member since March 2025

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  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #2234.

It might worth stating that the aim of Veritula, along with the fallibilism philosophy, is that progress is both desirable ant attainable, and the way to get to progress is thru rational means. This means end to mysticism, supernatural and all other ideas that have an implicit underlying sentiment that a given thing is beyond our understanding.

It might be worth stating that the aim of Veritula, in conjunction with the fallibilism philosophy, is that progress is both desirable and attainable, and the way to achieve progress is through rational means. This means an end to mysticism, the supernatural, and all other ideas that have an implicit underlying sentiment that a given thing is beyond our understanding.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #2140.

Decision-Making on Veritula

Expanding on #2112

If an idea has no pending criticisms, it’s rational to adopt it and irrational to reject it. What reason could you have to reject it? If it has no pending criticisms, then either 1) no reasons to reject it (ie, criticisms) have been suggested or 2) all suggested reasons have been addressed already.

If an idea does have pending criticisms, it’s irrational to adopt it and rational to reject it – by reference to those criticisms. What reason could you have to ignore the pending criticisms and adopt it anyway?

#2140·Dennis HackethalOP, 7 days ago

It might worth stating that the aim of Veritula, along with the fallibilism philosophy, is that progress is both desirable ant attainable, and the way to get to progress is thru rational means. This means end to mysticism, supernatural and all other ideas that have an implicit underlying sentiment that a given thing is beyond our understanding.

  Zelalem Mekonnen started a discussion titled ‘Fabric of Reality Book Club’.

We discuss David Deutsch’s first book, The Fabric of Reality.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1970.

The mere idea ‘continue living in city X’ may have pending criticisms. But so might the idea ‘leave X’. Maybe leaving is too expensive right now, or you’d have to find a new job and you like your job more than you want to leave, etc. In which case there could be a third idea: ‘At some point I’d like to leave X, but for right now that’s too expensive and too cumbersome, so staying in X for another year is fine.’ And that idea may not have any pending criticisms.

Does that make sense?

#1970·Dennis HackethalOP, 13 days ago

It does. But wouldn't that explain away the problem itself? I guess understanding and moving the problem into the future where I might be better suited to solve it is a good idea. So now I am acting on an explanation that solves the problem tentatively.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on criticism #1966.

Veritula uses a serif font …

Upon reflection, that doesn’t matter. The letters J and I aren’t difficult to tell apart in sans-serif fonts, either.

#1966·Dennis HackethalOP, 13 days ago

Right, I was just replying from my phone, which I should not have done, as it is easy to make mistakes like that.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1961. The revision addresses idea #1963.

The current city J live in. I have outstanding criticisms about it. But J still live here.

The current city I live in. I have outstanding criticisms about it. But I still live here.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on criticism #1960.

I don’t think that solves it because one shouldn’t act on a problematic idea either. And falseness can still be the reason an idea is problematic in the first place.

So, please give an example.

#1960·Dennis HackethalOP, 13 days ago

The current city J live in. I have outstanding criticisms about it. But J still live here.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1937.

Can you give an example of a flawed idea you think is true and want to act on?

PS: You forgot to @mention me. Again, if you want me to get notified, check the section that says ‘Replying to’ above the textarea when you write the comment. If it doesn’t list me, @mention me.

#1937·Dennis HackethalOP, 19 days ago

The reframing of an idea with criticism being problematic instead of false solves this. Because now I’m not acting based on a false idea but a problematic idea.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1935. The revision addresses ideas #1938 and #1943.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it is criticized. The idea is considered false until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with an idea that has outstanding criticism. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it is criticized. The idea is considered problematic until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we would seek to resolve the problems within the idea before we act on it. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1938.

… we wouldn't act in accordance with an idea that has outstanding criticism.

In #1926, I suggested changing it to “we wouldn't act in accordance with an idea that has outstanding criticisms”, plural. You changed it to singular “criticism”.

You presumably typed this passage manually instead of copy/pasting. I believe you previously stated a preference for manual typing so as to better process what you type.

I don’t think you made this change on purpose. I’m guessing it was an error.

If you’re going to type manually, you should double check to make sure it’s exactly the same, eg using cmd + f.

Or you could type it manually, then erase, then paste. Manual typing is error prone. Just copy/paste. Or maybe you did copy/paste but you didn’t include the ‘s’ in the selection. Either way, there are errors for you to correct here.

I’m not marking this a criticism because I think your change it still grammatically correct. I’m pointing out a potential source of future errors.

#1938·Dennis HackethalOP, 19 days ago

I started with looking it up, whether to include the ‘s’ in ‘criticism’ to find that it didn’t matter much.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1898.

What if, at that time, the best idea one has is the false idea?

#1898·Zelalem Mekonnen, 22 days ago

Say you have an idea, that you take to be true, but at the same time, you understand that that idea has flaws, you haven't come up with a better idea yet, so you act based on this idea.

I guess that's where figuring that out before acting comes in.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1934. The revision addresses idea #1926.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it is criticized. The idea is considered false until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it is criticized. The idea is considered false until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with an idea that has outstanding criticism. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1897. The revision addresses idea #1925.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it receives criticism. The idea is considered false until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it is criticized. The idea is considered false until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1896. The revision addresses idea #1884.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it receives criticism. When it has received criticism and until the current criticism is resolved, that idea is seen as false. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it receives criticism. When it has received criticism and until all outstanding criticism is resolved, that idea is seen as false. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1908.

Damn. I didn't know that. But if I understand it, 'few' means not many, and 'a few' means something like five or 6. I have a few close friends.

@dennis-hackethal Damn. I didn't know that. But if I understand it, 'few' means not many, and 'a few' means something like five or 6. I have a few close friends.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1902.

You’ve since made the change to “a few changes” (as of #1894) but I think that change was premature.

Don’t make changes you don’t understand. Take questions literally and answer them.

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/The-Difference-Between-Few-and-A-Few-

#1902·Dennis HackethalOP, 22 days ago

Damn. I didn't know that. But if I understand it, 'few' means not many, and 'a few' means something like five or 6. I have a few close friends.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1897.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it receives criticism. The idea is considered false until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

#1897·Zelalem Mekonnen, 22 days ago

What if, at that time, the best idea one has is the false idea?

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1896. The revision addresses ideas #1882, #1884, and #1894.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it receives criticism. When it has received criticism and until the current criticism is resolved, that idea is seen as false. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it receives criticism. The idea is considered false until all criticism is resolved. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1881. The revision addresses idea #1883.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it has received criticism. When it has received criticism and until the current criticism is resolved, that idea is seen as false. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it receives criticism. When it has received criticism and until the current criticism is resolved, that idea is seen as false. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1894.

I went over it first and made a few changes. After that, Grammarly recommended that I remove the 'a' before 'criticism' and to remove the 'they are'.

#1894·Zelalem Mekonnen, 22 days ago

Does the ‘a’ mean I made few but significant changes?

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1882. The revision addresses idea #1885.

I went over it first and made few changes. After that, Grammarly recommended that I remove the 'a' before 'criticism' and to remove the 'they are'.

I went over it first and made a few changes. After that, Grammarly recommended that I remove the 'a' before 'criticism' and to remove the 'they are'.

  Zelalem Mekonnen commented on idea #1881.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it has received criticism. When it has received criticism and until the current criticism is resolved, that idea is seen as false. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

#1881·Zelalem Mekonnen, 22 days ago

I went over it first and made few changes. After that, Grammarly recommended that I remove the 'a' before 'criticism' and to remove the 'they are'.

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1874. The revision addresses ideas #1875 and #1880.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept the idea as true until it has received a criticism. In which case, until the current criticism isn't resolved, the idea is tentatively seen as false and makes no sense to live in accordance to it. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if they are related should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept that idea as true until it has received criticism. When it has received criticism and until the current criticism is resolved, that idea is seen as false. Since the goal is to live a rational life, we wouldn't act in accordance with that idea. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if related, should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

  Zelalem Mekonnen addressed criticism #1875.

Now I’m submitting a criticism that contains a flaw. It has a tpyo.

Try counter-critizing my criticism by pointing out the typo. Observe that the red label saying ‘Criticized’ on #1874 disappears once you submit your criticism.

In other words, your counter-criticism ‘neutralizes’ my criticism.

Revising ideas and submitting counter-criticisms are the two ways to address criticisms.

#1875·Dennis HackethalOP, 25 days ago

There is a typo in "[i]t has a tpyo."

  Zelalem Mekonnen revised idea #1871. The revision addresses ideas #1872 and #1873.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept the idea as true until it has received a criticism. In which case, until the current criticism isn't resolved, the idea is tentatively seen as false and makes no sense to live in accordance to it. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Each idea and criticism, even if they are related must be their its own. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.

If I understand Veritula correctly, we first start with an idea. We accept the idea as true until it has received a criticism. In which case, until the current criticism isn't resolved, the idea is tentatively seen as false and makes no sense to live in accordance to it. We don't submit bulk ideas or criticisms. Ideas (including criticisms), even if they are related should generally be submitted separately. Also, avoid duplicate ideas.