I strongly agree with #4, mainly because I don’t see what PUA discussion adds to Less Wrong. I’m actually fascinated with PUA theory and practice, but it’s rife with pseudo-science and discussed in such detail on so many other blogs that I’d prefer to see Less Wrong steer relatively clear of it as a serious topic.
Agreed. I’m not really convinced that PUAs teach us anything about rationalism. What do we really learn from them? They didn’t learn their methods by applying ours. They’re empiricists sure, but that’s kindergarten stuff to us. In the PUA-related threads I sometimes get the sense that LWers are treating rationality like being on a football team or playing guitar (“If only I was as rational as those guys, chicks would think I’m SO AWESOME.”)
This is clearly just fantasising, and a waste of everyone’s time.
Agreed. I’m not really convinced that PUAs teach us anything about rationalism. What do we really learn from them? They didn’t learn their methods by applying ours. They’re empiricists sure, but that’s kindergarten stuff to us. In the PUA-related threads I sometimes get the sense that LWers are treating rationality like being on a football team or playing guitar (“If only I was as rational as those guys, chicks would think I’m SO AWESOME.”)
This is clearly just fantasising, and a waste of everyone’s time.