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RichardKennaway comments on A Less Wrong Q&A with Eliezer (Step 1: The Proposition) - Less Wrong
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Comments (33)
I much prefer text to speech, because it's faster and allows random access. For that reason I've hardly ever watched bloggingheads, and I doubt I'd watch the proposed video. Also, this proposition isn't for a real time dialog, but spoken answers to written questions supplied in advance.
Has Eliezer done TED yet? I'd watch that.
What's special about the talk being at TED, precisely?
The audience.
Speakers at TED are addressing a wide variety of smart and successful people, and therefore must compose their talks to communicate what actually matters outside their own circle, and make it worth that audience's time and $6000 a year to listen.
Yes, they're well-prepared, but they're lowest common denominator. I think I've learned less from TED talks than from any other source by or about the same person. eg, compare Bruce Bueno de Mesquita's TED talk to his interviews by Russ Roberts. I haven't listened to his hour+ talk on Iran, but I think I listened to a talk that contained 20 minutes on Iran that was much better than his 20 minute TED talk.
Maybe they're good if you just want 20 minutes to filter the person for actual learning later.
It's a distinctly high-status event.
Text is faster than speech, but if the video isn't important (e.g. with BHTV) you can listen to them during times that you couldn't read. Such as driving, or walking.
I listen to a lot of podcasts on my way to and from work, and it effectively doesn't use extra time in my day - I'd be travelling anyway, so I might as well make good use of the time.
My mileage varies, in the most literal sense. My commute is about half the length of a TED talk.
I'm not sure how TED works. Do they have to invite you to speak? Can you submit your name?
Eliezer, have you ever been invited to TED? Have you considered trying to submit your name as a potential speaker?
I'm not sure if the TED format would make for something very interesting for LW readers, though. It's 18 minutes max (iirc), so Eliezer would probably only have time for an introduction to a few concepts. I'd much prefer a longer Q&A like the one I suggested above.
I prefer text to speech too. But it doesn't have to be one or the other.
I find both to be complementary, and I feel that the few times that I've seen Eliezer speak (at Singularity Summit, BHTV, etc) have made him more "real" to me and added something to my reading of his texts.
I just want more of that, I guess.
Update: Just to be clear, are you saying you would like a Q&A but in text format instead of video, or that you don't want a Q&A at all and prefer the usual blog posts?
Can't do much about the random access (ie, skimming), but you can speed up speech a lot.
Agreed -- text is better.
TED seconded.
Add my vote to text. I'd point out that text is far more accessible, in the disabilities sense (eg. my own hearing-impaired self; the bloggingheads interviews are almost unlistenable to me).