# Introduction to Critical Fallibilism
**URL:** https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920
**Category:** Elliot Temple
**Tags:** bot, cf-article
**Created:** [April 4, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920 "2024-04-04T20:38:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Elliot](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Elliot)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/21 "2025-02-15T16:50:54Z")
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> I realized now that if there is a single end goal then that implies we should maximize it. That’s if it’s a quantity
Not necessarily. Maybe just cross the last, best breakpoint.
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2025, 8:24am UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/22 "2025-02-26T08:24:55Z")
Yes, this could be. My first reaction was that this would be boring. Like what happens after the breakpoint is crossed? Would we be done? Would we have nothing to do and would life be totally easy from then on? However, it might be that you cross the last breakpoint and then the situation changes and now you have to cross the breakpoint again in new, interesting and challenging ways.
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2025, 8:31am UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/23 "2025-02-26T08:31:58Z")
This article felt way easier to outline than [Friedman’s](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/milton-friedman-and-maximizing-profits/1991/42). This one was way more detailed, I don’t know whether that’s easier or not, because I have to make less choice about what to include. But I think it has mostly to do with how this article is better written and seemed to be based on a tree.
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2025, 8:47am UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/24 "2025-02-26T08:47:27Z")
I started writing notes on the concepts in this article. However it took a bit too much time and effort, so I’ll come back to it later when I have powered up.
The notes are [evergreen notes](https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen_notes). I’m not too caught up in following the principles exactly. Like I think you could write a bit longer than what you would if you strictly followed the atomic principle. I want to research more about this note taking method, but I don’t think it’s currently a bottleneck.
Stuff in double brackets, `[[note name|alias]]`, are links to other notes. I only have this one note on breakpoints. The links are to notes to be made in the future.
I use Obsidian so I think I’ll make an Obsidian Publish site with my philosophy notes when I have more notes.
The note:
> # breakpoints
>
> [[binary goals]] works well with factors of _discrete categories_; some categories are evaluated as failures and the others as successes. however _continuums_ don’t seem to work with [[binary goals]]; there are infinitely many categories. we can’t possibly go through each category and evaluate each as a success or failure. does that mean we have to [[maximization|maximize]] continuous factors? no, because of breakpoints.
>
> to use [[binary goals]] for _analog factors_ we have to _split up the analog spectrum_ into manageable amounts of _discrete categories_. breakpoints do this by specifying a point on the analog spectrum where a _qualitative difference_ happens. each goal for analog factors ought to be evaluated by whether the outcome crosses the breakpoint, success, or not, failure.
At this point I would probably decide to split something into other notes like _excess capacity_, _good enough_ or _optimizing_.
> crossing a breakpoint means it’s _good enough_ for whatever goal we were trying to accomplish. _good enough_ should be taken literally, not as “I wanted to do better, but this was all I managed”, it means optimizing this factor doesn’t help anymore. if there’s no _qualitative difference_ then it doesn’t matter.
>
> optimizing a factor past its breakpoint (without crossing another breakpoint for this factor) could even be worse. it could be _worse_ by causing another factor to cross a breakpoint in the wrong direction. for example by taking up too much storage space, time, attention, etc.
>
> _quantitative differences_ that don’t cross _any_ breakpoint _don’t matter at all_. there are many small optimizations that do help a little, which is because they cross insignificant breakpoints. since they’re qualitative differences they’re breakpoints. But since they only make our lives slightly better they’re not worth our consideration.
> since breakpoints are _sparse_ most _quantitative differences_ don’t matter. that means _most optimizations don’t matter_. we should _focus_ on crossing the breakpoints of [[bottlenecks]]. we can get _big wins_ with less effort by having correct focus.
>
> ## quotes
>
> [Introduction to Critical Fallibilism](https://criticalfallibilism.com/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/):
> A _breakpoint_ is a point on an analog spectrum where there’s a _qualitative_ difference rather than merely a _quantitative_ difference. […] Breakpoints split an analog spectrum into discrete categories. By using breakpoints, we can deal with everything in small digital terms. And each individual breakpoint can be dealt with in a binary way: there are two sides of a breakpoint, and a value falls on one of those two sides.
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/25 "2025-05-15T20:34:20Z")
> [@Elliot](#):
>
> Excess capacity is the amount of a factor that’s far from any breakpoint so it doesn’t help cross any breakpoint.
Let’s say I wanna work on fixing my sleep(e.g. sleeping too late) does me being able to lay on my bed without falling have excess capacity? Like the issue of me staying on my bed is not a concern cuz im not dealing with a faulty matress or sleep walking. I know I could try sleeping on the ground or couch but for now im able to rest on the bed for as long as i want as I attempt to go to sleep.
> [@Elliot](#):
>
> Instead, we should be identifying at most a few key factors and only optimizing those.
Let’s say I wanna rerun a souls game, but I notice that im stuck on a boss and dying a lot. Is it ok to say that me dying a lot is crossing a breakpoint? Something im doing while living and fighting the boss is not good enough for the goal of beating the game.
> [@Elliot](#):
>
> Most small changes in quantities don’t really matter because they don’t result in crossing a breakpoint.
This sounds similar to TOC’s weakest link
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/26 "2025-05-15T21:39:58Z")
> [@Dface](#):
>
> Is it ok to say that me dying a lot is crossing a breakpoint?
I could tell you my opinion if you want to, but I think you could figure it out if I ask you some questions. So: why is the concept of breakpoints necessary for CF?
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/27 "2025-05-15T21:50:37Z")
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> So: why is the concept of breakpoints necessary for CF?
Necessary? Uhh cuz then it would be hard to separate digital stuff from analog stuff I think. Like it would be hard to address a goal without using breakpoints i think
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/28 "2025-05-15T21:52:24Z")
Is dying a lot to the boss analog or digital? I haven’t played the game so I wouldn’t know. You might have to give some details.
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/29 "2025-05-15T22:03:26Z")
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> Is dying a lot to the boss analog or digital?
idk i didn’t think you could say if something is analog or digital like that. idk if it’s analog or digital
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> I haven’t played the game so I wouldn’t know. You might have to give some details.
I think an example could be like dark souls 3. And living long enough while hurting the boss is important cuz if you don’t do one then the boss doesn’t get defeated
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/30 "2025-05-15T22:07:11Z")
Im looking at the defs again:
> [@Elliot](#):
>
> Analog means spectrums, continuums, quantities, amounts, degrees or real numbers.
> [@Elliot](#):
>
> “Small digital” means something is digital with a small number of possible values.
Ok i think i could answer your question:
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> Is dying a lot to the boss analog or digital?
I think dying a lot to the boss is analog cuz amount of deaths could be 5, 10, or 15, or more. That’s a lot of possible values
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/31 "2025-05-15T22:20:06Z")
> [@Dface](#):
>
> I think dying a lot to the boss is analog cuz amount of deaths could be 5, 10, or 15, or more. That’s a lot of possible values
Yeah, “a lot” implies different quantities. But don’t you only have to beat each boss once to beat the game? I guess you can die a lot but try again.
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/32 "2025-05-15T22:25:52Z")
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> But don’t you only have to beat each boss once to beat the game?
Yeah you only need to beat each boss once to beat the game. Sometimes bosses are optional
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> I guess you can die a lot but try again.
yeah you can
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/33 "2025-05-15T22:27:14Z")
What is the breakpoint of dying a lot to a boss? What amount?
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/34 "2025-05-15T22:36:52Z")
@Dface You can’t find an answer? That’s what you mean by the like? I can tell you my answer if you don’t want to try more.
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/35 "2025-05-15T22:38:38Z")
I gotta go do something rq ill be back. i liked cuz I wanna showw i read your post
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/36 "2025-05-15T22:46:01Z")
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> What is the breakpoint of dying a lot to a boss?
I forget what breakpoints are intuitively, but I think the breakpoint for a hardish boss is 5 times cuz like what attack is killing the player so much? For one of the hardest bosses the breakpoint is like 20 cuz what phase of the boss is the player having the most trouble with?
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### Author:  [@Elliot](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Elliot)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/37 "2025-05-15T22:47:33Z")
> [@Dface](#):
>
> Let’s say I wanna work on fixing my sleep(e.g. sleeping too late) does me being able to lay on my bed without falling have excess capacity?
Yes your bed has excess capacity for holding you up without you falling. It’s plenty strong, stable, balanced, etc.
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### Author:  [@Elliot](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Elliot)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/38 "2025-05-15T22:49:12Z")
> [@ActiveMind](#):
>
> So: why is the concept of breakpoints necessary for CF?
FYI it’s not. I originally developed the key CF ideas by building on Popper without integrating ideas about bottlenecks, breakpoints or stuff like that.
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### Author:  [@Dface](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/Dface)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/39 "2025-05-15T22:57:38Z")
> [@Elliot](#):
>
> Yes your bed has excess capacity for holding you up without you falling.
Oh i like this sentence cuz it talks about the bed in a 3rd person way
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### Author:  [@ActiveMind](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/u/ActiveMind)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://discuss.criticalfallibilism.com/t/introduction-to-critical-fallibilism/1920/40 "2025-05-15T23:04:43Z")
Is it not necessary in the sense that you need it to deal with continuums? If breakpoints didn’t work wouldn’t continuums be a big problem for CF? Like something people would dismiss CF over because it can’t handle those types of situations?
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