katydee comments on Why We Can't Take Expected Value Estimates Literally (Even When They're Unbiased) - Less Wrong

75 Post author: HoldenKarnofsky 18 August 2011 11:34PM

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Comment author: katydee 21 August 2011 12:14:46PM *  4 points [-]

If that's indeed the case (I haven't noticed this flaw myself), I suggest that you write articles (or perhaps commission/petition others to have them written) describing this flaw and how to correct it. Eliminating such a flaw or providing means of averting it would greatly aid LW and the community in general.

Comment author: Will_Newsome 21 August 2011 12:30:43PM *  -2 points [-]

Unfortunately that is not currently possible for many reasons, including some large ones I can't talk about and that I can't talk about why I can't talk about. I can't see any way that it would become possible in the next few years either. I find this stressful; it's why I make token attempts to communicate in extremely abstract or indirect ways with Less Wrong, despite the apparent fruitlessness. But there's really nothing for it.

Unrelated public announcement: People who go back and downvote every comment someone's made, please, stop doing that. It's a clever way to pull information cascades in your direction but it is clearly an abuse of the content filtering system and highly dishonorable. If you truly must use such tactics, downvoting a few of your enemy's top level posts is much less evil; your enemy loses the karma and takes the hint without your severely biasing the public perception of your enemy's standard discourse. Please.

(I just lost 150 karma points in a few minutes and that'll probably continue for awhile. This happens a lot.)

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 21 August 2011 01:55:12PM 5 points [-]

I'm sorry to hear that you're up against something so difficult, and I hope you find a way out.

Comment author: Will_Newsome 21 August 2011 02:25:48PM 1 point [-]

Thank you... I think I just need to be more meta. Meta never fails.

Comment author: katydee 21 August 2011 09:45:23PM 7 points [-]

I'm not a big fan of the appeal to secret reasons, so I think I'm going to have pull out of this discussion. I will note, however, that you personally seem to be involved in more misunderstandings than the average LW poster, so while it's certainly possible that your secret reasons are true and valid and Eliezer just sucks at reading or whatever, you may want to clarify certain elements of your own communication as well.

I unfortunately predict that "going more meta" will not be strongly received here.

Comment author: Nisan 21 August 2011 10:31:33PM 7 points [-]

Unfortunately that is not currently possible for many reasons, including some large ones I can't talk about and that I can't talk about why I can't talk about.

Why can't you talk about why you can't talk about them?

Comment author: [deleted] 21 August 2011 01:51:46PM 5 points [-]

Unfortunately that is not currently possible for many reasons, including some large ones I can't talk about and that I can't talk about why I can't talk about.

Are we still talking about improving general reading comprehension? What could possibly be dangerous about that?