shokwave comments on 2013 Survey Results - Less Wrong

74 Post author: Yvain 19 January 2014 02:51AM

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Comment author: ChristianKl 21 January 2014 12:50:13PM 5 points [-]

I don't think the goal of LW is to be socially approval for the average person.

On the one hand it's to grow people who might want to participate in LW. The fact that LW has many smart people in it, could draw the right people into LW.

On the other hand it's to further the agenda of CFAR, MIRI and FHI. I don't think the world listens less to a programmer who wants to warn about the dangers of UFAI when the programmer proclaims that he's smart.

It's very hard for me to see a media article that wouldn't describe CFAR as a bunch of people who think they are smart. If you write the advancement of rationality on your bannar, that something that everyone is to assume anyway. Having polled IQ data doesn't do further damage.

Comment author: shokwave 23 January 2014 12:33:41PM 0 points [-]

If you replace "smart" with "used drugs recreationally" you might see my point?

Comment author: ChristianKl 23 January 2014 02:42:15PM 2 points [-]

If you replace "smart" with "used drugs recreationally" you might see my point?

Actually I don't think that rationality (as the CFAR mission) has much to do with using drugs recreationally it does have something to do with being smart. You could have a CFAR that experiments with various mind altering substances to see which of those improve rationality. That's not the CFAR that we have.

I did a lot of QS PR. That means having a 2 hour interview where the journalist might pick 30 seconds of phrases that come on TV. I wouldn't have had any issue in that context of playing into a nerd stereotype. On the other hand I wouldn't have said something that fits QS users into the stereotype of drug users.

Comment author: shokwave 24 January 2014 01:11:26PM 0 points [-]

Fair enough; drug use is a lot more public relations damaging than self-proclaimed high IQ.