I think there's a big difference between discussing a specific idea and discussing the person and everything he writes from Quora posts to the blog, the mailing list and the book. I'd happily voice my opinion about Tempo, or about Slightly Evil, the Gervais Principle or any of his other ideas. They're different works though and they don't deserve to be clumped together in one "what do I think about Rao" kind of post. When somebody is as prolific as Venkat inevitably some of the stuff is going to be good and some of the stuff is going to be not so good.
Maybe you can give a nuanced opinion about a person and his work in a couple of paragraphs. I sure can't. It's just incredibly difficult to do a person's accomplishments justice with some kind of quick summary. If I don't think I can stand behind what I write a couple of years down the road I shouldn't write it in the first place.
Also, this is not self-censorship. We all have (controversial) opinions about a variety of topics and when we voice those opinions we send a signal. Some of these signals we don't wish to send and consequently, on some matters we choose not to voice our opinion. It's just a mundane cost-benefit analysis; nothing more.
Also, this is not self-censorship. We all have (controversial) opinions about a variety of topics and when we voice those opinions we send a signal. Some of these signals we don't wish to send and consequently, on some matters we choose not to voice our opinion. It's just a mundane cost-benefit analysis; nothing more.
I disagree. A decision being the result of a cost-benefit analysis doesn't preclude it from being an act of self-censorship. (Otherwise it would follow that a perfect utility maximizer could never self-censor, which I see as a reductio.) As...
Venkatesh Rao (who is amazing because he literally constantly challenges our definitions of everything):
http://www.quora.com/Venkatesh-Rao/Quora-Portfolio-Year-1
http://www.quora.com/Venkatesh-Rao
http://www.ribbonfarm.com/be-slightly-evil/
http://www.ribbonfarm.com
Gregory Rader:
http://www.quora.com/Gregory-Rader
http://onthespiral.com/
Daniel Lemire:
http://www.quora.com/Daniel-Lemire and http://lemire.me/blog/ are also super-super-super interesting
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I tried doing google searches of site:lesswrong.com + their names (or websites), but ended up with little. I'd like to see what LessWrong thinks of Rao in particular. I have NEVER seen posts that were as amazingly insightful as his. It's worth it just to sacrifice a day just to see all his amazing posts. The others were also amazing and really make you think about everything.
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E.g. with Rao, you have
My favorites:
http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-benefits-to-obtaining-a-PhD-in-the-field-of-Education/answer/Venkatesh-Rao?srid=0WH
http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2010/05/19/intellectual-gluttony/
http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2011/04/07/extroverts-introverts-aspies-and-codies
http://www.quora.com/What-careers-or-industries-are-the-most-meritocratic/answer/Venkatesh-Rao?srid=0WH
http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2008/09/11/how-to-measure-information-work
http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-tips-for-advanced-writers/answer/Venkatesh-Rao
http://www.quora.com/Children/Why-do-some-humans-not-want-children/answer/Venkatesh-Rao
http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-way-to-motivate-oneself-to-finish-a-PhD/answer/Venkatesh-Rao
http://www.quora.com/History/What-is-the-most-important-human-decision-ever-made/answer/Venkatesh-Rao
http://www.quora.com/Is-the-following-follower-model-the-new-standard-of-social-connection/answer/Venkatesh-Rao
http://www.quora.com/What-discipline-specific-principles-help-reframe-activities-so-as-to-provide-useful-insights-and-or-improvement
Rader:
http://onthespiral.com/stop-wasting-time-and-effort-developing-fragile-capabilities
http://onthespiral.com/unifying-value-universe
http://onthespiral.com/principles-disruptive-learning-environments
Lemire:
http://lemire.me/blog/archives/2010/08/16/working-long-hours-is-stupid
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2010/02/08/trading-latency-for-quality-in-research
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2009/09/14/how-things-change-cheaters-are-innovators
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2008/08/19/the-secret-to-intellectual-productivity/
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2010/01/13/the-fundamental-properties-of-computing/
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2007/12/05/formal-definitions-are-less-useful-than-you-think/
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2007/11/19/directed-research-is-useless/
http://lemire.me/blog/archives/2006/08/09/big-schools-are-not-longer-giving-researchers-an-edge/
http://lemire.me/blog/archives/2011/06/23/probabilities-are-unnecessary-mathematical-artifacts
http://lemire.me/blog/archives/2011/06/14/the-language-interpreters-are-the-new-machines
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2009/08/01/why-i-hardly-ever-blog-about-my-ongoing-research/
http://lemire.me/blog/archives/2011/06/08/is-wikipedia-anti-intellectual
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2008/06/05/why-pure-theory-is-wasteful
http://lemire.me/blog/archives/2011/06/06/why-i-still-program