It just seems at odds with the scientific ethos of cutting out the bullshit whenever possible. Instead, Eliezer seems bent on injecting bullshit back into the mix, which I’d argue comes at the expense of clarity, precision, and credibility. However, I do realize it’s a calculated decision intended to give normally dry ideas more memetic potential, and I’m not in a position to say the trade-off definitely isn’t worth it.
Deliberately so. The original OB posts started with it as a thought experiment, “what if we kept science secret, so people would appreciate its Awesome Mysteries?”
Despite that, I think that whole style is a tremendous mistake. It’s an interesting thought experiment, but we should be clear that it runs completely counter to the things that actually bring about accurate results.
It just seems at odds with the scientific ethos of cutting out the bullshit whenever possible. Instead, Eliezer seems bent on injecting bullshit back into the mix, which I’d argue comes at the expense of clarity, precision, and credibility. However, I do realize it’s a calculated decision intended to give normally dry ideas more memetic potential, and I’m not in a position to say the trade-off definitely isn’t worth it.
Deliberately so. The original OB posts started with it as a thought experiment, “what if we kept science secret, so people would appreciate its Awesome Mysteries?”
Despite that, I think that whole style is a tremendous mistake. It’s an interesting thought experiment, but we should be clear that it runs completely counter to the things that actually bring about accurate results.