I don't see where he said anybody was being deficient in anything.
This was the impression I got from the article's tone, as well as your previous comments--an impression of "you should do this for your own good". If that was not the intent, I apologize, it is easy to misread tone over the internet.
And if you don't judge or fear it to be such, why would the article set you off? If you were really happy with things as they are, wouldn't you'd have just said, "oh, something I don't need", and went on with your life? Why so much protest?
Because there have been other times where people expressed opinions about what I ought to be doing for enjoyment (cf. the kind of helpfulness described as optimizing others ) and I find it irritating. It's a minor but persistent pet peeve.
I remarked on the article originally mainly because the advice it offered seemed puzzlingly obvious.
This was the impression I got from the article's tone, as well as your previous comments--an impression of "you should do this for your own good".
Ah. All I said in the original context was that rationality is only an obstacle in social situations if you used it as an excuse to make everything about you and your ideas/priorities/values, and gave the article as some background on the ways that "rational" people sometimes do that. No advice was given or implied.
As for the article's tone, bear in mind that it's a pickup artist's blog (...
I've often had half-finished LW post ideas and crossed them off for a number of reasons, mostly they were too rough or undeveloped and I didn't feel expert enough. Other people might worry their post would be judged harshly, or feel overwhelmed, or worried about topicality, or they just want some community input before adding it.
So: this is a special sort of open thread. Please post your unfinished ideas and sketches for LW posts here as comments, if you would like constructive critique, assistance and checking from people with more expertise, etc. Just pile them in without worrying too much. Ideas can be as short as a single sentence or as long as a finished post. Both subject and presentation are on topic in replies. Bad ideas should be mined for whatever good can be found in them. Good ideas should be poked with challenges to make them stronger. No being nasty!