wh-uwsin Hacker News • Recommends
On “Image Synthesis from Yahoo's open_nsfw”
This is basically the exact hypothesis of a TED talk I saw by cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman. link to this video fascinating stuff
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Do we see reality as it is? | Donald Hoffman | TED
TED
28M subscribers • 27 videos on Rounds
- Recommended by 3 people, in Hacker News, across 3 different months.
- Presented by Donald Hoffman, cognitive scientist, as the video describes them
- Debated among experts. Its central claim is contested, so look for the other side.
For anyone, no background needed. Education, not medical advice.
3.1M views11 years ago3 recommendations
Donald Hoffman explains how evolution shapes our perception to hide objective reality and instead present a simplified user interface.
Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman is trying to answer a big question: Do we experience the world as it really is ... or as we need it to be? In this ever so slightly mind-blowing talk, he ponders how our minds construct reality for us. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more. Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at ted.com/talks/donald_hoffman_do_we_see_reality_as_it_is Follow TED news on Twitter: twitter.com/tednews Like TED on Facebook: facebook.com/TED Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirectorWhy it's here
3 people recommend this, 1 disputes itWhat people say. Highly recommended for its mind-bending explanation of how the human brain constructs perception rather than perceiving objective reality.
patconin Hacker News • Recommends
On “Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)”
This reminds me of this amazing TED Talk: Do we see reality as it is? (Donald Hoffman, cognitive scientist) link to this video The intellectual bomb in the video is this: Organisms that perceive only "fitness" drive to extinction all organisms that perceive reality as it is. (in model systems simulating environments and creatures navigating them) My take: at every level, it would seem, perceiving true reality is not favoured. Nevermind cognitive biases, that's just one level. Literally the fabric of the universe: spacetime, matter, language, etc. It means nothing that it might feel comfortable or intuitive -- we should question it all.
cartoonworldin Hacker News • Recommends
On “Ask HN: Words of encouragement for someone lost in life?”
…Beetle that also experiences the Tinder Effect. This nearly caused their extinction. I encourage you to watch Donald Hoffman's 2015 TED Talk "Do we see reality as it is?"0 linked below for your convenience. I've timestamped the relevant section, skip forward about 100 seconds or so for the direct discussion of the Australian jewel beetle. 0 - link to this video…
copperxin Hacker News • Disputes
On “Ask HN: Words of encouragement for someone lost in life?”
> 0 - link to this video While most of the talk is great, he just handwaves the idea that reality is not "brains and neurons," nor what physicists try to model, but he makes no effort in explaining what's the difference between "reality" and "physics." It would be great if someone who understood that last part could explain it.
psycin Hacker News • Mentions
On “Is Consciousness an Illusion?”
The user-illusion metaphor is a central idea in Donald Hoffman's work. I'm not sure who borrowed it from whom. link to this video
tibbydudezain Hacker News • Mentions
On “Hallucination is inevitable: An innate limitation of large language models”
The brain fakes it to approximate reality - more so for reasons of the limitations of the wetware it runs on than anything else. For others here is a TED talk. link to this video
patconin Hacker News • Mentions
On “GPT-5 is behind schedule”
There's something here that I feel is pretty deep, though offensive for some minds: What is the actual consequence of being wrong? Of not getting right the base reality of a situation? Usually, stasis is the enemy that is much great than false information. If people with 90% truth can take a step forward in the world, even if they mistakenly think they have 100% truth, what does it matter? They're learning more and acting more for that step taken. If the mistaken ground truth is false and importantly enough false, they'll learn it bc their experience is grounded in the reality the navigate anyhow. If they don't learn it, it's of no consequence. This is on my mind because I work in democratic…