Without commenting on the subject, I’ll say that I have a policy of downvoting contentless introduction posts that promise a lengthy forcoming sequence. These projects usually peter out after 2-3 posts, leaving the bulk of the work undone.
I would suggest a different rule of thumb, which I will call the Yvain Method: never post a series. Instead, write one post that stands on its own. Look at the responses. Use them to learn about the subject and other people’s reactions to it. Only then should you think about writing post N+1.
Or the Eliezer method, which is: post a standalone first chapter; then post a second chapter (which may include references to the first chapter), and so on; optionally post a table of contents afterwards.
I would beg to differ, as to this post not having any content. It affirms that politics is difficult to talk about; that there’s a psychological reason for that; that politics has a large impact on our lives; that a rational perspective on politics requires that one can answer certain questions; that the answer to these questions can be called a political ideology and that such ideologies should be constructed in a certain way. You may not like this way of introducing a subject—by giving a brief picture of what it’s all about—but that’s another story.
I will finish posting this series. I have already written an almost complete version of them, so what’s missing is mainly coming up with a few facts/perspectives for some of the posts. Hopefully I’m finished by, thursday.
Unfortunately, my Karma score went below 2 last night (the threshold to be able to post new articles). This might be due to a mistake I made when deciding what facts to discuss in my latest post - it was unnecessary to bring up my own views, I should have picked some random observations. But even if I hadn’t posted that article, my score would still be too low, from all the negative reviews on this post. Or from the third post.
Without commenting on the subject, I’ll say that I have a policy of downvoting contentless introduction posts that promise a lengthy forcoming sequence. These projects usually peter out after 2-3 posts, leaving the bulk of the work undone.
Thus the rule of thumb: never post a series until you’ve finished writing it.
I would suggest a different rule of thumb, which I will call the Yvain Method: never post a series. Instead, write one post that stands on its own. Look at the responses. Use them to learn about the subject and other people’s reactions to it. Only then should you think about writing post N+1.
Yvain has overtly written a series, though.
Huh. My to-read list keeps getting longer and longer.
Or the Eliezer method, which is: post a standalone first chapter; then post a second chapter (which may include references to the first chapter), and so on; optionally post a table of contents afterwards.
And now it’s finished! I’ve tried to make them shorter than the ones I’ve already posted and with no political leaning. Here they are:
A Tutorial on Creating a Political Ideology
The Domain of Politics
Choose That Which is Most Important to You
Consider the Most Important Facts
Strive Towards the (Second) Best Society
Change the World in the Most Efficient Manner
A Digression on Alliances
Discuss the Most Important Points
How To Construct a Political Ideology—Summary
And here is my own ideology while following this tutorial:
My Own Political Ideology
And now, 1.5 years later, I’ve written an extra chapter in the tutorial, but written to be the third chapter:
Survey the Most Relevant Literature
Congratulations! I am glad I was wrong.
I would beg to differ, as to this post not having any content. It affirms that politics is difficult to talk about; that there’s a psychological reason for that; that politics has a large impact on our lives; that a rational perspective on politics requires that one can answer certain questions; that the answer to these questions can be called a political ideology and that such ideologies should be constructed in a certain way. You may not like this way of introducing a subject—by giving a brief picture of what it’s all about—but that’s another story.
I will finish posting this series. I have already written an almost complete version of them, so what’s missing is mainly coming up with a few facts/perspectives for some of the posts. Hopefully I’m finished by, thursday.
If you do finish the series, and manage to insightfuly and productively discuss the topics you outlined, Ill change my downvote to an upvote.
Unfortunately, my Karma score went below 2 last night (the threshold to be able to post new articles). This might be due to a mistake I made when deciding what facts to discuss in my latest post - it was unnecessary to bring up my own views, I should have picked some random observations. But even if I hadn’t posted that article, my score would still be too low, from all the negative reviews on this post. Or from the third post.
In any case, I’ll finish the posts on my blog.