“‘Yes, and—’ Requires the Possibility of ‘No, Because—’” by Zack_M_Davis
Description
Scott Garrabrant gives a number of examples to illustrate that "Yes Requires the Possibility of No". We can understand the principle in terms of information theory. Consider the answer to a yes-or-no question as a binary random variable. The "amount of information" associated with a random variable is quantified by the entropy, the expected value of the negative logarithm of the probability of the outcome. If we know in advance of asking that the answer to the question will always be Yes, then the entropy is −P(Yes)·log(P(Yes)) − P(No)·log(P(No)) = −1·log(1) − 0·log(0) = 0.[1] If you already knew what the answer would be, then the answer contains no information; you didn't learn anything new by asking.
In the art of improvisational theater ("improv" for short), actors perform scenes that they make up as they go along. Without a script, each actor's choices of what to say and [...]
The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.
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First published:
October 9th, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Pwg7nmjkx8mxmE6gF/yes-and-requires-the-possibility-of-no-because
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
United States
