I’ve been thinking this same thing for a while now, but coming at it from a different direction. I’m worried, and I’m not sure what to do about it. I’ve tried writing up some suggestions, but nothing has felt useful enough to post. To try and explain my position, I’ll give a vague ramble comment here instead.
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Yeah, I think it’s possible the book will be a big deal. If it does make a significant splash, the overtone window might take a big knock, all at once. It’s possible that the collective eye of the world, turns onto us. Onto LessWrong. How do we prep for that?
In a way that I adore, this community is a bunch of weirdos. We are not normal. We hold opinions that are vastly different from most of the world. If this book gets the reception it deserves, I think it’ll be pretty easy to spin up articles dunking on LW. I imagine something like “Eugenics loving, Polygamous, vegan, SBF funded, Shrimp obsessed, Harry Potter fanfic, doomsday, sex cult, warns end times are near, in NYTs best seller”.
I am afraid of the eye, looking down at us, calling us bad people, and I am afraid of the split. I do not want there to be the Blue tribe, the Red tribe, and the Grey tribe. I do not want this issue to become a culture war topic. How do we plan to avoid this outcome? If the book is successful, how do we steer the narrative away from “Group X wants to kill us all by doing Y!” and more into the realm of “Oh, this is a big deal, and we need to all work together to solve it”?
And how do we avoid being Carrie-ed in the cultural spotlight? How do we avoid people protesting in ways that are not beneficial to the cause? If we ‘win’ this thing, it seems to me, we need the support of the average person. But where is our relatable figure? Yudkowsky is a wonderful writer, and a quick thinking speaker. But, he is not a relatable figure head, and he is-unfortunately-somewhat easy to take jabs at.
Relevant fiction here is An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green. In which the Protagonist “April May” is thrown into the spotlight of the world, after an encounter with a mysterious robot. I’d recommend the book any time, but to me, it feels relevant now.
As stated, I am afraid, and it’s possible my anxieties are projections of my own feelings. I’d be thankful to someone who could calm my anxiety with some logical argument. But, as of now, I think this emotion is telling me something important.
I’ve been thinking this same thing for a while now, but coming at it from a different direction. I’m worried, and I’m not sure what to do about it. I’ve tried writing up some suggestions, but nothing has felt useful enough to post. To try and explain my position, I’ll give a vague ramble comment here instead.
--
Yeah, I think it’s possible the book will be a big deal. If it does make a significant splash, the overtone window might take a big knock, all at once. It’s possible that the collective eye of the world, turns onto us. Onto LessWrong. How do we prep for that?
In a way that I adore, this community is a bunch of weirdos. We are not normal. We hold opinions that are vastly different from most of the world. If this book gets the reception it deserves, I think it’ll be pretty easy to spin up articles dunking on LW. I imagine something like “Eugenics loving, Polygamous, vegan, SBF funded, Shrimp obsessed, Harry Potter fanfic, doomsday, sex cult, warns end times are near, in NYTs best seller”.
I am afraid of the eye, looking down at us, calling us bad people, and I am afraid of the split. I do not want there to be the Blue tribe, the Red tribe, and the Grey tribe. I do not want this issue to become a culture war topic. How do we plan to avoid this outcome? If the book is successful, how do we steer the narrative away from “Group X wants to kill us all by doing Y!” and more into the realm of “Oh, this is a big deal, and we need to all work together to solve it”?
And how do we avoid being Carrie-ed in the cultural spotlight? How do we avoid people protesting in ways that are not beneficial to the cause? If we ‘win’ this thing, it seems to me, we need the support of the average person. But where is our relatable figure? Yudkowsky is a wonderful writer, and a quick thinking speaker. But, he is not a relatable figure head, and he is-unfortunately-somewhat easy to take jabs at.
Relevant fiction here is An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green. In which the Protagonist “April May” is thrown into the spotlight of the world, after an encounter with a mysterious robot. I’d recommend the book any time, but to me, it feels relevant now.
As stated, I am afraid, and it’s possible my anxieties are projections of my own feelings. I’d be thankful to someone who could calm my anxiety with some logical argument. But, as of now, I think this emotion is telling me something important.