Comment author: David_Gerard 06 January 2014 12:40:50PM 1 point [-]

LW's implicit philosophy (which I don't disagree with) is that a cost of participating is that you are fair game for blunt criticism. Alas, such a philosophy probably repels some potential participants who would otherwise make intelligent comments.

Driving out the voices of the less privileged is potentially problematic when LW claims to be on a mission for the good of all of humanity.

Comment author: Erdrick 07 January 2014 07:40:31AM 3 points [-]

Or to math this up, our mission is unlikely to succeed if we make joining harder and less pleasant for ~54% of the population (51% female, ~2-3% non-hetero male)

So, while agreeing with the principle of favoring open and blunt discourse, I for one intend to make more of a concerted effort to square the circle of being honest and blunt while being more welcoming.

Comment author: jaibot 07 January 2014 04:57:15AM *  4 points [-]

~~Update: Likely that feminist-inclined LWers are less likely to comment/vote and more more likely to take surveys.~~

Meta-update: This hypothesis ruled highly-improbable based on more data from Yvain.

Comment author: Erdrick 07 January 2014 07:33:04AM 6 points [-]

Possible, but I suspect the "Why our kind can't cooperate" both has a stronger effect and is more likely.

Comment author: jaibot 06 January 2014 05:20:02PM *  8 points [-]

Shelve the meta-speculation until you've at least checked speculation-prime.

"Our problem is that we're too good" is a really, really, really suspicious thing for a human to say. Have you considered the possibility that it might not be true?

(Also, request to taboo the term "politically correct")

Comment author: Erdrick 07 January 2014 07:29:10AM 1 point [-]

Upvoted for having my favorite rationality quote of the last month.

Comment author: Erdrick 26 July 2012 03:46:34AM 6 points [-]

Greetings fellow Ration-istas!

First of all, I'd like to mention how glad I am that this site and community exist. For many years I wondered if there were others like me, who cared about improving themselves and their capacity for reason. And now I know - now I just need to figure out how to drag you all down to sunny San Diego to join me...

My name is Brett, and I'm a 28 year old Computational Biologist in San Diego, California. I've thought of myself as a materialist and an atheist since my freshman year in college, but it wasn't until after I graduated that I truly began to care about rationality. I realized that though I was unhappy with my life, as a scientist I had access to the best tools around for turning that around - science and reason.

I was born with a de novo genomic translocation on my 1st chromosome that left me with a whole raft of medical problems through-out my childhood - funnel chest, cleft palate, mis-fused skull, you name it. As a result I was picked on and isolated for most of my childhood, and generally responded to stress by retreating into video games and SF novels. So I went to school to study genetics and biology, and I graduated from college with a love of science - but also mediocre grades, a crippling EverQuest/World of Warcraft addiction, and few friends.

I suffered alone through a few months of a job that I hated before realizing I could use reason to improve my lot. And life has been one long, slow improvement after another ever since. Now I've got friends, a Master's in an awesome since, and a job that I enjoy... the only thing I was lacking was a community to discuss further improvements to myself and my capacity for reason to.

Then one of my most rationally minded friends pointed me towards Less Wrong and the Methods of Rationality in May, and here I am.

/b/

P.S. Barring a mass exodus to SD, I've also been considering moving to SF/SJ to be closer to friends and the LW meetups, assuming I could find work there. Does anyone know of any openings for a Bioinformaticist or Computational Biologist in the Bay by chance?