Scott Alexander warns against forming strong heuristics based on limited data, using examples from AI research, elections, and campaign strategies to illustrate the pitfalls of this approach.
Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the dangers of forming strong heuristics based on limited data points. He presents three examples: AI research progress, election predictions, and campaign strategies. In each case, he shows how people formed confident heuristics after observing patterns in just one or two instances, only to be surprised when these heuristics failed. The post argues against treating life events as moral parables and instead advocates for viewing them as individual data points that may not necessarily generalize. Scott uses a mix of statistical reasoning, historical examples, and cultural references to illustrate his points.
Shorter summary