That’s not relevant to the subject of the article, but, since you asked, the pattern is that if you talk to a philosopher, they point out a million holes in the philosophical aspects of the Sequences, if you talk to a mathematician, they will point to the various mathematical issues, if you talk to a statistician, they will rant about the made-up divide between Bayesian and frequentist approaches, if you talk to a physicist, they will point out the relevant errors and mischaracterizations in the parts that deal with physics. Basically, pick a subject area and talk to a few experts, and you will see it.
The value of specific examples is that we can check whether the critics seem to know what they’re talking about, both in their field (do they understand the ground truth) and regarding the sequences themselves (do they know what Eliezer is saying). Simply telling us there are many examples does not, I believe, fulfill the intent of the question. Which is fine, you have no obligation to answer it, but I think it’s worth pointing out.
To be clear, I’m sure you can find people in each of those groups making reach of those criticisms. I do not believe those criticisms would be consensus in each of those groups. Certainly not all of them and on the level of “this is terrible”. I remember, for example, physicists talking about the quantum mechanics sequence like “yeah, it’s weirdly presented and I don’t agree with the conclusion, but the science is basically accurate”.
In retrospect, I should not have mentioned the Sequences as an example, it’s a sensitive topic here. I personally learned a lot from them in the areas outside my expertise.
Can I get an example of a section of The Sequences where someone with the relevant area of expertise would say that that it’s terrible?
That’s not relevant to the subject of the article, but, since you asked, the pattern is that if you talk to a philosopher, they point out a million holes in the philosophical aspects of the Sequences, if you talk to a mathematician, they will point to the various mathematical issues, if you talk to a statistician, they will rant about the made-up divide between Bayesian and frequentist approaches, if you talk to a physicist, they will point out the relevant errors and mischaracterizations in the parts that deal with physics. Basically, pick a subject area and talk to a few experts, and you will see it.
Roll to disbelieve.
The value of specific examples is that we can check whether the critics seem to know what they’re talking about, both in their field (do they understand the ground truth) and regarding the sequences themselves (do they know what Eliezer is saying). Simply telling us there are many examples does not, I believe, fulfill the intent of the question. Which is fine, you have no obligation to answer it, but I think it’s worth pointing out.
To be clear, I’m sure you can find people in each of those groups making reach of those criticisms. I do not believe those criticisms would be consensus in each of those groups. Certainly not all of them and on the level of “this is terrible”. I remember, for example, physicists talking about the quantum mechanics sequence like “yeah, it’s weirdly presented and I don’t agree with the conclusion, but the science is basically accurate”.
In retrospect, I should not have mentioned the Sequences as an example, it’s a sensitive topic here. I personally learned a lot from them in the areas outside my expertise.
I’m confused… is this supposed to be an ironic demonstration of Gell-Mann amnesia, or...?
The bit in the title about the Sequences? Yes.
There’s a lot of that in the comments, not that anyone reads the comments.