gothgirl420666 comments on Writing Style and the Typical Mind Fallacy - Less Wrong

27 Post author: lukeprog 14 July 2013 04:47AM

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Comment author: gothgirl420666 15 July 2013 06:36:58AM 8 points [-]

The stuff written by Eliezer that really stuck with me is the Sequences. The stuff written by you that really stuck with me are some of your instrumental rationality posts, like "How to Be Happy".

It's pretty clear to me that Eliezer's dramatic, storytelling style is better suited for a series of essays designed to radically alter the way the reader thinks about truth, beauty, right and wrong, etc. And it's pretty clear to me that your straightforward, just-the-facts style is better suited for posts along the lines of "here is what science suggests you can do to become happier/more productive".

Consider maybe the idea that different styles are good for different things, and perhaps you and Eliezer should choose things to write about based on your respective comparative advantages.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 15 July 2013 03:45:23PM 3 points [-]

Agreed, and I'd been meaning to ask Eliezer how he thinks about ways of gradually easing people into ideas which are new and possibly shocking for them.