---
title: "4 Rationalist Quotes By Eliezer Yudkowsky"
description: "4 Rationalist quotes by Eliezer Yudkowsky. Plus more from Eliezer Yudkowsky and more Rationalist sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_binding_part-of-the-rationalist-ethos-is-binding_585902.png"
---

> [Part of the rationalist ethos is binding yourself emotionally to an absolutely lawful reductionistic universe - a universe containing no ontologically basic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/part-of-the-rationalist-ethos-is-binding-yourself-emotionally-to-an/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_binding_part-of-the-rationalist-ethos-is-binding_585902.png)

> [“A true rationalist ought to be effective in the real world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/a-true-rationalist-ought-to-be-effective-in-the-real-world/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_cynicism_a-true-rationalist-ought-to-be-effective_2825023.png)

> [“a rationalist isn't ever certain of anything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/a-rationalist-isn-t-ever-certain-of-anything/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_certain_a-rationalist-isn-t-ever-certain-of-anyt_2884520.png)

> [Your strength as a rationalist is your ability to be more confused by fiction than by reality. If you are equally good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/your-strength-as-a-rationalist-is-your-ability-to-be-more-confused-by/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_irrational_your-strength-as-a-rationalist-is-your-a_2972487.png)

## More by Eliezer Yudkowsky

> [“But I really am Ravenclaw, you know, not Slytherin. I don't want to rule the universe. I just think it could be more sensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/but-i-really-am-ravenclaw-you-know-not-slytherin-i-don-t-want-to-rule/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“‎If you regard evidence as a constraint and seek to free yourself, you sell yourself into the chains of your whims. For you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/if-you-regard-evidence-as-a-constraint-and-seek-to-free-yourself-you/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-that-truth-matters-to-us/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [I see little hope for democracy as an effective form of government, but I admire the poetry of how it makes its victims complicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-see-little-hope-for-democracy-as-an-effective-form-of-government/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“He really really really shouldn't have done that. Amazing how much more obvious that became one second after it was too late.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/he-really-really-really-shouldn-t-have-done-that-amazing-how-much/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [I'm wondering if there's a spell to make lightning flash in the background whenever I make an ominous resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-m-wondering-if-there-s-a-spell-to-make-lightning-flash-in-the/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“There’s a technique we use in our local rationalist cluster called “Is That Your True Rejection?”, and it works like this: Before you stake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/there-s-a-technique-we-use-in-our-local-rationalist-cluster-called-is/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [Lonely dissent doesn't feel like going to school dressed in black. It feels like going to school wearing a clown suit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/lonely-dissent-doesn-t-feel-like-going-to-school-dressed-in-black-it/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“Knowing that Draco's hopeful face had probably been drilled into him by months of practice did not make it any less effective, Harry observed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/knowing-that-draco-s-hopeful-face-had-probably-been-drilled-into-him/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [The strength of a theory is not what it allows, but what it prohibits; if you can invent an equally persuasive explanation for any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-strength-of-a-theory-is-not-what-it-allows-but-what-it-prohibits/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [It is triple ultra forbidden to respond to criticism with violence. There are a very few injunctions in the human art of rationality that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/it-is-triple-ultra-forbidden-to-respond-to-criticism-with-violence/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [The human species was not born into a market economy. Bees won't sell you honey if you offer them an electronic funds transfer. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-human-species-was-not-born-into-a-market-economy-bees-won-t-sell/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“Frigideiro! " said Hermione again from the desk next to him. Her water was solid ice and there were white crystals forming on the rim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/frigideiro-said-hermione-again-from-the-desk-next-to-him-her-water/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“And then Harry Potter had launched in to a speech that was inspiring, yet vague. A speech to the effect that Fred and George…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/and-then-harry-potter-had-launched-in-to-a-speech-that-was-inspiring/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [“And I know that I'd just make myself unhappy by comparing that reality to... something perfect that I built up in my imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/and-i-know-that-i-d-just-make-myself-unhappy-by-comparing-that/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

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