orthonormal comments on Rational Romantic Relationships, Part 1: Relationship Styles and Attraction Basics - Less Wrong

48 Post author: lukeprog 05 November 2011 11:06AM

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Comment author: orthonormal 06 November 2011 10:03:18PM *  5 points [-]

I didn't downvote, but I didn't upvote, and I'd actually be a bit embarrassed if it were the first thing that a friend of mine saw on Less Wrong. This is mostly due to a few lingering phrases that, although I know you don't intend them that way, have widely known sexist connotations. For instance:

Girls seeking rationalist guys are at an advantage because the gender ratio lies in their favor

I know you mean to say "the current community of self-identified rationalists contains many more men than women", but you can easily imagine what connotations someone else might imbue it with. I got an 'ugh' reaction upon first reading it, even though I know you meant better.

Some women say they want a long-term relationship but date 'bad boys' who are unlikely to become long-term mates.

Similarly, for reasons of connotation/signaling I'd prefer it if you avoided examples that fit the "nice guy's lament" genre, or at least put a citation to them rather than treating them as too obvious to bother backing up.

ETA: I should mention that I hold the language of Main-level posts to a much higher standard than I do Discussion posts or comments. If you're making something public, then you have the burden of proper communication.