[Link] Eric S. Raymond - Me and Less Wrong

philh

http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=6549

I’ve gotten questions from a couple of different quarters recently about my relationship to the the rationalist community around Less Wrong and related blogs. The one sentence answer is that I consider myself a fellow-traveler and ally of that culture, but not really part of it nor particularly wishing to be.

The rest of this post is a slightly longer development of that answer.

http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=6549

I’ve gotten questions from a couple of different quarters recently about my relationship to the the rationalist community around Less Wrong and related blogs. The one sentence answer is that I consider myself a fellow-traveler and ally of that culture, but not really part of it nor particularly wishing to be.

The rest of this post is a slightly longer development of that answer.

I didn't recommend it, because you have to have a pretty high tolerance for ideological windbags to get through it. I do, but it was pushing my limits. EY stopped.

I've pinged Kennaway to see if he has an alternative recommendation.

Recommending a way into Korzybski is difficult. I read Korzybski the hard way, having been inspired to seek out "Science and Sanity" at the age of about 15, by mentions of K and General Semantics in some of Heinlein's stories, and found it was in the public library. (Ah, the Golden Age of Science Fiction -- being 15 years old.) I found it extraordinarily laborious, but about ten years later I read it again and found it as clear as day (albeit a rather long day). I've heard of others having a similar experience. During my earlier exposure I al... (read more)

0ChristianKl11y

I understand your concern. Science and Sanity isn't an easy book to read. On the homepage of the institute for General Semantics there a list of introductionary books: http://www.generalsemantics.org/store/53-general-semantics-intros?n=20&id_category=53 Maybe one of those would be better.

0Raemon11y

Alfred Korzybski is likely to be too ideologically windbaggy for Less Wrongers?

36

[Link] Eric S. Raymond - Me and Less Wrong

36

36

36

[Link] Eric S. Raymond - Me and Less Wrong

36

36