I’m surprised by this idea of treating SSC as a rationalist hub. I love Scott, Scott’s blog, and Scott’s writing. Still, it doesn’t seem like it is a “rationality blog” to me. Not directly at least. Scott is applying a good deal of epistemic rationality to his topics of interest, but the blog isn’t about epistemic rationality, and even less so about practical rationality. (I would say that Brienne’s and Nate’s ‘self-help’ posts are much closer to that.) By paying attention, one might extract the rationality principles Scott is using, but they’re not outlined.
There’s a separate claim that while Scott’s blog isn’t about rationality in the same was LW is, it has attracted the same audience, and therefore can be a rationality attractor/hub. This has some legitimacy, but I still don’t like it. LW has attracted a lot of people who like to debate interesting topics and ideas on the internet, with a small fraction who are interested in going out and doing things (or just staying in, but actually changing themselves). Scott’s blog, being about ideas, seems that it also attract lots of people who simply like mental stimulation, but without a filter for those most interested in doing. I’d really like our rationality community hubs to select for those who want take rationality seriously and implement it in their minds and actions.
On this selecting for -or at least being about- the EA Forum is actually quite good.
Lastly, maybe I feel strong resistence to trying to open Scott’s blog up because it seems like it really is his personal blog about things he wants to write about—and just because he’s really successful and part of the community doesn’t mean we get tell him now ‘open it up’/‘give it over’/co-opt it for the rest of the community.
I’m surprised by this idea of treating SSC as a rationalist hub. I love Scott, Scott’s blog, and Scott’s writing. Still, it doesn’t seem like it is a “rationality blog” to me. Not directly at least. Scott is applying a good deal of epistemic rationality to his topics of interest, but the blog isn’t about epistemic rationality, and even less so about practical rationality. (I would say that Brienne’s and Nate’s ‘self-help’ posts are much closer to that.) By paying attention, one might extract the rationality principles Scott is using, but they’re not outlined.
There’s a separate claim that while Scott’s blog isn’t about rationality in the same was LW is, it has attracted the same audience, and therefore can be a rationality attractor/hub. This has some legitimacy, but I still don’t like it. LW has attracted a lot of people who like to debate interesting topics and ideas on the internet, with a small fraction who are interested in going out and doing things (or just staying in, but actually changing themselves). Scott’s blog, being about ideas, seems that it also attract lots of people who simply like mental stimulation, but without a filter for those most interested in doing. I’d really like our rationality community hubs to select for those who want take rationality seriously and implement it in their minds and actions.
On this selecting for -or at least being about- the EA Forum is actually quite good.
Lastly, maybe I feel strong resistence to trying to open Scott’s blog up because it seems like it really is his personal blog about things he wants to write about—and just because he’s really successful and part of the community doesn’t mean we get tell him now ‘open it up’/‘give it over’/co-opt it for the rest of the community.