I think you are getting at something here, Duncan. I’ve become interested in the following question lately: “How should rationalists conduct themselves if their goal is to promote rationality?” Now, I understand that promoting rationality is not every rationalist’s top priority, hence I stated that condition explicitly.
I’ve been thoroughly impressed by how Toby Ord conducts himself in his writings and interviews. He is kind, respectful, reassuring and most importantly, he doesn’t engage in fear-mongering despite working on x-risks. In his EA interview, he said, “Let us not get into criticising each other for working on the second most important thing.” I found this stunningly thoughtful and virtuous. I find this to be an excellent example of someone going about achieving their goals effectively.
As much as I like Dawkins and love his books, I will admit that his attitude is sometimes unhelpful towards his own goals. I recall hearing (forgot where) that before a debate on spirituality, Dawkins’ interlocutor asked him to read some documents ahead of the discussion. Dawkins showed up having not read the papers and said, “I did not read your documents because I know they are wrong.” [citation needed] Now, this attitude might have been amusing to some in the audience, but, on the whole, this is irrational given the goal is to promote science.
Whenever I engage in motivated reasoning, motivated scepticism or subtle ad hominem in an argument, I can feel it. It feels like I am making a mistake. I feel a vague sense of guilt and confusion in the back of my head and a lump in my throat upon engaging in such conduct. I like the idea of leaning into confusion, which I recall coming across somewhere in the sequences and elsewhere on LessWrong. Still, I would like to become more proficient at actively avoiding these mistakes in the first place.
Since it was posted, I have been closely following the My experience at and around MIRI and CFAR post, but I didn’t know who or what to believe. Anecdotes were being thrown like hotcakes and every which way. Given this confusion, I became more interested in learning a lesson from the situation than picking sides, debunking claims or pointing fingers at culprits.
I think you are getting at something here, Duncan. I’ve become interested in the following question lately: “How should rationalists conduct themselves if their goal is to promote rationality?” Now, I understand that promoting rationality is not every rationalist’s top priority, hence I stated that condition explicitly.
I’ve been thoroughly impressed by how Toby Ord conducts himself in his writings and interviews. He is kind, respectful, reassuring and most importantly, he doesn’t engage in fear-mongering despite working on x-risks. In his EA interview, he said, “Let us not get into criticising each other for working on the second most important thing.” I found this stunningly thoughtful and virtuous. I find this to be an excellent example of someone going about achieving their goals effectively.
As much as I like Dawkins and love his books, I will admit that his attitude is sometimes unhelpful towards his own goals. I recall hearing (forgot where) that before a debate on spirituality, Dawkins’ interlocutor asked him to read some documents ahead of the discussion. Dawkins showed up having not read the papers and said, “I did not read your documents because I know they are wrong.” [citation needed] Now, this attitude might have been amusing to some in the audience, but, on the whole, this is irrational given the goal is to promote science.
Whenever I engage in motivated reasoning, motivated scepticism or subtle ad hominem in an argument, I can feel it. It feels like I am making a mistake. I feel a vague sense of guilt and confusion in the back of my head and a lump in my throat upon engaging in such conduct. I like the idea of leaning into confusion, which I recall coming across somewhere in the sequences and elsewhere on LessWrong. Still, I would like to become more proficient at actively avoiding these mistakes in the first place.
Since it was posted, I have been closely following the My experience at and around MIRI and CFAR post, but I didn’t know who or what to believe. Anecdotes were being thrown like hotcakes and every which way. Given this confusion, I became more interested in learning a lesson from the situation than picking sides, debunking claims or pointing fingers at culprits.