I don’t know if it’s a useful way to think, but it’s the way I do think in practice, and not necessarily because of reading Less Wrong; I think that’s just where I found words for it. And based on the conversation I mentioned, other people also think like this, but using different criteria than mine. Which is really interesting. And after reflecting on this a bit and trying to taboo the term “agenty” and figure out what characteristics my brain is looking at when it assigns that label, I probably will use it less to describe other people.
In terms of describing myself, I think it’s a good shorthand for several characteristics that I want to have, including being proactive, which is the word I substitute in if I’m talking to someone outside Less Wrong about my efforts at self-improvement.
I don’t know if it’s a useful way to think, but it’s the way I do think in practice, and not necessarily because of reading Less Wrong; I think that’s just where I found words for it. And based on the conversation I mentioned, other people also think like this, but using different criteria than mine. Which is really interesting. And after reflecting on this a bit and trying to taboo the term “agenty” and figure out what characteristics my brain is looking at when it assigns that label, I probably will use it less to describe other people.
In terms of describing myself, I think it’s a good shorthand for several characteristics that I want to have, including being proactive, which is the word I substitute in if I’m talking to someone outside Less Wrong about my efforts at self-improvement.