steven0461 comments on Rationality, Singularity, Method, and the Mainstream - Less Wrong

38 Post author: Mitchell_Porter 22 March 2011 12:06PM

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Comment author: steven0461 22 March 2011 08:15:29PM *  8 points [-]

On a note related to "mission creep", I'd like to mention that the SL4 list has been lying dead for a long time, and that it would be nice to have an official successor. LW could be seen as that successor in that LW seems to have displaced the singularitarian community around SL4, but the latter had some virtues relative to the former, and I'm not sure this is on the whole a good situation.

Comment author: Kevin 24 March 2011 08:53:32AM *  5 points [-]

We almost definitely should have a /r/singularity subreddit here. And more subreddits in general.

Comment author: [deleted] 22 March 2011 08:17:08PM *  5 points [-]

but the latter had some virtues relative to the former

Such as? (I am unfamiliar with SL4. )

Comment author: steven0461 22 March 2011 08:45:36PM 7 points [-]

Most of them flow from SL4's specific focus on singularity issues. LW's "common interest of many causes" approach makes it so that:

  • some people who used to read SL4 don't read LW, because they're not interested in most of what is discussed here
  • singularity posts on LW need to spend more effort appealing to a wider audience
  • singularity posts on LW need to spend more effort bridging inferential gaps

There are also subtler cultural differences that it's harder for me to put my finger on. I suspect the strangest-sounding true thing that could comfortably be said on SL4 was stranger-sounding than the strangest-sounding true thing that can comfortably be said on LW.

Of course, I don't mean to deny the huge advantages LW brings; the karma system works well, and a large audience is useful in many ways. But maybe there's a way to keep the best of both worlds.

Comment author: [deleted] 22 March 2011 08:59:30PM 3 points [-]

David Gerard recommends that LW and SIAI be kept separate - I had thought that a similar thing is currently done by singularity posts being in the discussion section.

I agree that a more singularity-focused forum would be nice. Perhaps LW could link to the successor of SL4 in the sidebar.

Comment author: PhilGoetz 15 May 2011 04:10:55AM -1 points [-]

I hope that someone not connected with SIAI creates this hypothetical singularity form. There is too much groupthink here. We are deep in one attractor, and need a random restart.

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