John_Maxwell_IV comments on Open Thread, May 18 - May 24, 2015 - Less Wrong

4 Post author: Gondolinian 18 May 2015 12:01AM

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Comment author: shminux 18 May 2015 01:44:22AM *  11 points [-]

What changes would LW require to make itself attractive again to the major contributors who left and now have their own blogs?

Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 18 May 2015 01:03:37PM *  11 points [-]

In my view, you're asking the wrong question. The major contributors are doing great; they have attracted their own audiences. A better question might be: how can LW grow promising new posters in to future major contributors (who may later migrate off the platform)?

I had some ideas that don't require changing the LW source that I'll now create polls for:

Should Less Wrong encourage readers to write appreciative private messages for posts that they like?

Should we add something to the FAQ about how having people tear your ideas apart is normal and expected behavior and not necessarily a sign that you're doing anything wrong?

Should we add something to the FAQ encouraging people to use smiley faces when they write critical comments? (Smiley faces take up very little space, so don't affect the signal-to-noise-ratio much, and help reinforce the idea that criticism is normal and expected. The FAQ could explain this.)

We could start testing these ideas informally ASAP, make a FAQ change if polls are bullish on the ideas, and then announce them more broadly in a Discussion post if they seem to be working well. To keep track of how the ideas seem to be working out, people could post their experiences with them in this subthread.

Submitting...

Comment author: Romashka 18 May 2015 01:56:47PM 5 points [-]

Maybe it would be a good thing for the site if people were encouraged to write critical reviews of something in their fields, the way SSC does? It has been mentioned that criticizing is easier than creating.

Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 18 May 2015 01:58:23PM 5 points [-]

Sounds like a good idea. Do it!

Comment author: Romashka 18 May 2015 02:10:11PM 6 points [-]

I do have something specific in mind (about how plant physiology is often divorced from population research), but I am in a minority here, so it might be more interesting for most people to read about other stuff.

Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 19 May 2015 03:29:38AM *  2 points [-]

I am in a minority here, so it might be more interesting for most people to read about other stuff

You mean you are studying a field most LWers are unfamiliar with? Well that means we can learn more from your post, right? ;)

If people don't find it interesting they won't read it. Little harm done. Polls indicate that LWers want to see more content, and I think you're displaying the exact sort of self-effacing attitude that is holding us back :)

I'm not guaranteeing that people will vote up your post or anything, but the entire point of the voting system is to help people find good content and ignore bad content. So upvoted posts are more valuable than downvoted posts are harmful.

Comment author: faul_sname 22 May 2015 06:09:43AM 0 points [-]

I, for one, would be interested in such a post.

Comment author: Romashka 22 May 2015 06:50:59AM 2 points [-]

Thank you, I will do it ASAP, I'm just a bit rushed by PhD schedule and some other work that can be done only in summer. Do you have similar observations? It would be great to compile them into a post, because my own experience is based more on literature and less on personal communication, for personal reasons.

Comment author: faul_sname 22 May 2015 10:45:51AM 1 point [-]

I really don't have any similar observations, since I mostly focused on biochem and computational bio in school.

I'm actually not entirely sure what details you're thinking of -- I'm imagining something like the influence of selective pressure from other members of the same species, which could cover things like how redwoods are so tall because other redwoods block out light below the canopy. On the other hand, insight into the dynamics of population biologists and those studying plant physiology would also be interesting.

According to the 2014 survey we have about 30 biologists on here, and there are considerably more people here who take an interest in such things. Go ahead and post -- the community might say they want less of it, but I'd bet at 4:1 odds that the community will be receptive.

Comment author: Romashka 08 June 2015 07:23:15PM 1 point [-]

...you know, this is actually odd. I would expect ten biologists to take over a free discussion board. Where are those people?

Comment author: Romashka 22 May 2015 11:12:17AM 1 point [-]

No, I meant rather what between-different-fields-of-biology observations you might have. It doesn't matter what you study, specifically. It's more like 'but why did those biochists study the impact of gall on probiotics for a whole fortnight of cultivation, if every physiologist knows that the probiotic pill cannot possibly be stuck in the GI tract for so long? thing.' Have you encountered this before?

Comment author: faul_sname 22 May 2015 11:17:16AM 0 points [-]

I can come up with a few examples that seemed obvious that they wouldn't work in retrospect, mostly having to do with gene insertion using A. tumefaciens, but none that I honestly predicted before I learned that they didn't work. Generally, the biological research at my institution seemed to be pretty practical, if boring. On the other hand, I was an undergrad, so there may have been obvious mistakes I missed -- that's part of what I'd be interested in learning.

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