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Fergus_Mackinnon comments on So what are our Mid-Term goals? - Less Wrong
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Comments (20)
SIAI's second priority is to raise the sanity waterline. A lot of people put their efforts towards that. For example: creating LW meetups in new cities, writing articles, and simply being more rational people.
Yes, that's something I'm not sure about. There's plenty of good reasons to pursue the goal, and, as far as I've seen, plenty of people willing to support it on this site... but there isn't any obvious coordination. If enough of us could gain positions at universities, spread out to maximize coverage, or focused to 'take-over' an institution, then we would likely see far more success. (Unfortunately none of our current ad-hoc 'leadership' has that much appeal outside the group, so playing politics doesn't look like it would work out well for us.) I'm probably going to try and work towards an Economics doctorate if I can get good enough grades once I'm at university, for example. Once established I'd be able to start writing to the media, try to get a column in an influential tabloid, write a popular science explanation of economics, etc with authority, and try to recruit/support rationalists.
Does the Less Wrong movement suffer from not having enough "people people"? I would guess that getting the ability to influence people (as opposed to basic social skills) is something that takes a lot of work.
I think so. The people most given to the introspection that leads to an interest in this philosophy seem to be those somehow marginalized by society, and they typically aren't very socially adept. Which is a pity, given how supportive a background in rationalist literature could be for a psychology student.
You are right, for the most part there isn't an organized movement. But everyone is doing something. And I'm sure you can find someone in LW community who has about the same ideas/approach as you, so you can team up.
I'm trying to do so, but the chances of them being nearby, and of university age seem pretty low. Has there ever been a LessWrong user census? Ages, locations, etc.
You are right, finding a person nearby is very unlikely. You (or they) will have to be willing to move.
This one is the only one I know about. It might be a good idea to redo it, since by now the numbers are completely different.
Maybe a less statistical one might be better, while interesting, it doesn't easily meet my needs. I'll post one in the morning unless someone else wants to do it, although if privacy is an issue for some people we'll likely need some off-site element.