Generally speaking, your argument isn’t very persuasive unless you believe that the world is doomed without FAI and that direct FAI research is the only significant contribution you can make to saving it.
The argument I gave doesn’t include justification of things it assumes (that you referred to). It only serves to separate the issues with claims about a person from issues with claims about what’s possible in the world. Both kinds of claims (assumptions in the argument I gave) could be argued with, but necessarily separately.
OK, I now see what your post was aimed at, a la this other post you made. I agree that criticism ought to be toward person X’s beliefs about the world, not his conclusions about himself.
The argument I gave doesn’t include justification of things it assumes (that you referred to). It only serves to separate the issues with claims about a person from issues with claims about what’s possible in the world. Both kinds of claims (assumptions in the argument I gave) could be argued with, but necessarily separately.
OK, I now see what your post was aimed at, a la this other post you made. I agree that criticism ought to be toward person X’s beliefs about the world, not his conclusions about himself.