http://hplusmagazine.com/2012/02/06/rationality-training-call-for-a-global-approach/
Dr.Ziesche calls for more globally accessible rationality training. He seems supportive of existing efforts, especially us, but thinks it would be nice if rationality training was easily accessible to people other than educated westerners.
So is it OK to spend time and resources to develop a rationality curicullum aiming to raise the sanity waterline... but it would be a waste of time and resources to spread it and use it? Then what's the point -- signalling that we care?
Of course it depends on the organization, whether cooperation with them would be fruitful or just a waste of time, but I think it's worth exploring and trying. Using someone's existing infrastructure is better than reinventing the wheel. For example, if it would be possible to put rationality videos on Khan Academy website, it would be better to put them there and hyperlink them from LW and SIAI sites, than to build an alternative website. If there are teachers worldwide possibly willing to include rationality lessons in their classes, it would be better to prepare useful tools for them, than only teach it at LW meetups.
(Cooperating with other people and leading them is a very useful skill; perfecting it is probably the nearest human-level equivalent to FOOMing. Unfortunately, many smart people have a strong bias against it, based on hasty generalizations of real experience.)
Are you saying Khan Academy and Udacity aren't spreading knowledge? I simply questioned the idea of lobbying existing or even forming independent international organizations for such causes. It is a very large expenditure, not to mention a saturated marked with lots of different organizations trying to do some UNish humanitarian-y thing, be it trying to educate people a... (read more)