Seeking out just examples that weaken my argument, when I never predicted that no such examples would exist, is the problem I am talking about.
My reason to weaken your argument is not that I want to be right but that I want feedback about my doubts. I said that 1.) people can be wrong, regardless of their previous reputation, 2.) that people can lie about their objectives and deceive by how they act in public (especially when the stakes are high), 3.) that Yudkowsky's previous output and achievements are not remarkable enough to trust him about some extraordinary claim. You haven't responded on why you tell people to believe Yudkowsky, in this case, regardless of my objections.
What made you think that supporting your conclusion and weakening my argument are different things?
I'm sorry if I made it appear as if I hold some particular belief. My epistemic state simply doesn't allow me to arrive at your conclusion. To highlight this I argued in favor of what it would mean to not accept your argument, namely to stand to previously well-established concepts like free speech and transparency. Yes, you could say that there is no difference here, except that I do not care about who is right but what is the right thing to do.
I said that 1.) people can be wrong, regardless of their previous reputation, 2.) that people can lie about their objectives and deceive by how they act in public (especially when the stakes are high), 3.) that Yudkowsky's previous output and achievements are not remarkable enough to trust him about some extraordinary claim.
I notice that Yudkowsky wasn't always self-professed human-friendly. Consider this:
...I must warn my reader that my first allegiance is to the Singularity, not humanity. I don't know what the Singularity will do with us. I don't know
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.