Sublime

not vary.

But what are the messages? This took me quite a few months to figure out. I finally realized that the messages were conditional probabilities in one direction and likelihood ratios in the other.

we cannot assume that everything interesting is at the same scale as ourselves.

instead of representing probability in huge tables, as was previously done, let’s represent it with a network of loosely coupled variables. If we only allow each variable to interact with a few neighboring variables, then we might overcome the computational hurdles that had caused other probabilists to stumble.

This paradox of comprehension was articulated explicitly by a great physicist of an earlier age: “Sir Isaac Newton, when asked what he thought of the infatuations of the people, answered that he could calculate the motions of erratic bodies, but not the madness of a multitude” (quoted from The Church of England Quarterly Review, 1850).

Hence, we are more likely to accept a dangerous idea if it aligns with our own experiences and is supported by the people we value.