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RobinHanson comments on Competent Elites - Less Wrong
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You seem to be relying almost entirely on your intuitive sense of people being smart, fast, "sparkly" etc. Yes, people at the top are good at giving other top people the impression they are smart. The question though is whether they are actually more productive in other ways. To evaluate that you need to look at metrics other than how sparkly the seem to you.
I had the same worry at seeing him gush.
However, the conclusion that there is a higher probability of meeting high-intellect people in power/reputation elites compared to lesser tiers, seems undeniable, since we believe smarts increase effectiveness.
Eliezer was excited by wondering whether the difference might be dramatic. I think it isn't, but our tendency to be inordinately excited by high status people might still make it worth seeking out their company if we can do so. Certainly the magical status sparkles may rub off on us ;)
From Eliezer's post:
The obvious explanation for the sparks is that Brooks and the other sparkly people must only be the lesser Twilight-type vampires.