korrents

← People and their mental models

Timothy B. Lee's mental models

2 claims Timothy B. Lee made fit 2 mental models. Most often: Conservation of complexity, Second-order thinking. Everything they said here.

Models we see in what they say

Our reading: their claim applies the idea without naming it. The claim is theirs; filing it here is ours.

Conservation of complexity

Some complexity cannot be removed, only moved; the question is who carries it, the user or the maker.

Used by 9 others

A privately owned self-driving car is a hard sell, because the owner inherits the cleaning, calibration and liability a fleet operator normally carries.

  1. Timothy B. Lee Journalist with a computer science master's degree who has… I wish Tensor the best, but I think this is going to be a hard sell. Why it might not make sense for you to own a self-driving carunderstandingai.org · 14 May 2026All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsI wish Tensor the best, but I think this is going to be a hard sell.

    ↗Why it might not make sense for you to own a self-driving carunderstandingai.org

    14 May 2026

Second-order thinking

Ask "and then what?": follow a decision past its first effect to the ones that come after.

Used by 86 others

A robotaxi that still needs remote human help loses the cost advantage that motivated it, which pushes out when it can scale.

  1. Timothy B. Lee Journalist with a computer science master's degree who has… If Waymo vehicles were constantly asking for remote guidance, Waymo might need to hire so many remote operators that it negates the cost savings that come from not needing a driver. On self driving, Waymo is playing chess while Tesla plays checkersunderstandingai.org · 21 May 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsIf Waymo vehicles were constantly asking for remote guidance, Waymo might need to hire so many remote operators that it negates the cost savings that come from not needing a driver.

    ↗On self driving, Waymo is playing chess while Tesla plays checkersunderstandingai.org

    21 May 2024