This might be a question with no good answer. I am reminded of Chomsky’s complaint in the video version of Manufacturing Consent that ideas like his can never get a hearing on television because they cannot be condensed into meaty meaningful sound bites.
The two data points worthy of consideration as I see it:
Elevator pitches work best for popular culture like Lady Gaga or Harry Potter. I do not think it is a coincidence that a big fraction of the new people in Less Wrong introduction threads state they came to the site through Harry Potter and the Method of. Maybe pitch only the story and not the transcendental critique?
The only successful advertising I have seen for any similar product is the Teaching Company. So if I wanted to write an elevator pitch for rationality or for Less Wrong I would first study the Teaching Company advertisements very closely.
This might be a question with no good answer. I am reminded of Chomsky’s complaint in the video version of Manufacturing Consent that ideas like his can never get a hearing on television because they cannot be condensed into meaty meaningful sound bites.
The two data points worthy of consideration as I see it:
Elevator pitches work best for popular culture like Lady Gaga or Harry Potter. I do not think it is a coincidence that a big fraction of the new people in Less Wrong introduction threads state they came to the site through Harry Potter and the Method of. Maybe pitch only the story and not the transcendental critique?
The only successful advertising I have seen for any similar product is the Teaching Company. So if I wanted to write an elevator pitch for rationality or for Less Wrong I would first study the Teaching Company advertisements very closely.