But when you are considering a person who agrees with that theory, and makes a decision based on it, agreement with the theory fully explains that decision, this is a much better explanation than most of the stuff people are circulating here.
You appear to be arguing that a bad decision is somehow a less bad decision if the reasoning used to get to it was consistent ("carefully, correctly wrong").
At that point, disagreement about the decision must be resolved by arguing about the theory, but that's not easy.
No, because the decision is tested against reality. Being internally consistent may be a reason for doing something that it is obvious to others is just going to be counterproductive - as in the present case - but it doesn't grant a forgiveness pass from reality.
That is: in practical effects, sincere stupidity and insincere stupidity are both stupidity.
You even say this above ("There is only one proper criterion to anyone's actions, goodness of consequences"), making your post here even stranger.
(In fact, sincere stupidity can be more damaging, as in my experience it's much harder to get the person to change their behaviour or the reasoning that led to it - they tend to cling to it and justify it when the bad effects are pointed out to them, with more justifications in response to more detail on the consequences of the error.)
Think of it as a trolley problem. Leaving the post is a bad option, the consequences of removing it are then the question: which is actually worse and results in the idea propagating further? If you can prove in detail that a decision theory considers removing it will make it propagate less, you've just found where the decision theory fails.
Removing the forbidden post propagated it further, and made both the post itself and the circumstances of its removal objects of fascination. It has also diminished the perceived integrity of LessWrong, as we can no longer be sure posts are not being quietly removed as well as loudly; this also diminished the reputation of SIAI. It is difficult to see either of these as working to suppress the bad idea.
It has also diminished the perceived integrity of LessWrong, as we can no longer be sure posts are not being quietly removed as well as loudly; this also diminished the reputation of SIAI.
More importantly it removed lesswrong as a place where FAI and decision theory can be discussed in any depth beyond superficial advocacy.
Ideally, I'd like to save the world. One way to do that involves contributing academic research, which raises the question of what's the most effective way of doing that.
The traditional wisdom says if you want to do research, you should get a job in a university. But for the most part the system seems to be set up so that you first spend a long time working for someone else and research their ideas, after which you can lead your own group, but then most of your time will be spent on applying for grants and other administrative trivia rather than actually researching the interesting stuff. Also, in Finland at least, all professors need to also spend time doing teaching, so that's another time sink.
I suspect I would have more time to actually dedicate on research, and I could get doing it quicker, if I took a part-time job and did the research in my spare time. E.g. the recommended rates for a freelance journalist in Finland would allow me to spend a week each month doing work and three weeks doing research, of course assuming that I can pull off the freelance journalism part.
What (dis)advantages does this have compared to the traditional model?
Some advantages:
Some disadvantages:
EDIT: Note that while I certainly do appreciate comments specific to my situation, I posted this over at LW and not Discussion because I was hoping the discussion would also be useful for others who might be considering an academic path. So feel free to also provide commentary that's US-specific, say.