Perplexed comments on Efficient Charity - Less Wrong

31 Post author: multifoliaterose 04 December 2010 10:27AM

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Comment author: Perplexed 04 December 2010 11:57:56PM 2 points [-]

You claimed I was "pretending to be surprised" - while what I was actually doing was asking questions. Your interpretation seems to presume dubious motives :-|

Not dubious at all. I assumed you purpose was rhetorical. By feigning incomprehension of something carrying a stench of irrationality, you signal that you are pure in your rationalism. Surely you don't believe that there is something dubious about signaling.

Comment author: timtyler 06 December 2010 10:41:56PM *  0 points [-]

The other thing to say about this is: I don't think helping strangers, or explaining to others how to help strangers - without any thought to what it might signal - is at all irrational.

I understand perfectly well, that for people with certain kinds of utilitarian goal systems, this kind of thing all makes perfect sense - and is absolutely the rational thing to do.

It is pretty strange that any such utilitarian people exist in the first place - but if we accept that axiomatically, things like the discussion on this thread follow - without any need for invoking irrationality.

Comment author: timtyler 05 December 2010 10:37:30AM *  0 points [-]

It is more that I don't think I was pretending at all. I did ask questions - but that doesn't mean I was surprised by existence of an audience for the presentation.

I have some hypotheses about that (some of which I listed) - but I am not so certain of their relative merit that I don't welcome input from others on the topic. Some of those involved clearly have quite a different perspective from me, and I am curious about what they think is happening.