One important point was missing however, a point raised by Yvain last week under the title, Extreme Rationality: It’s Not That Great. That fact is that we have not done anything yet. Eliezer writes under the assumption that women ought to want to study our writings, but since we have so far failed to produce a single practical application of our rationalist techniques, I really cannot blame women for staying away. They may be being more rational than we are.
(Of course, just because LW isn’t helping one with instrumental rationality doesn’t mean it’s irrational for one to read it; maybe one is reading it because it’s fun, and the fun is worth the time spent on it.)
Philip Greenspun hypothesizes something similar for the under-representation of women in hard sciences. Scott Aaronson disagrees.
(Of course, just because LW isn’t helping one with instrumental rationality doesn’t mean it’s irrational for one to read it; maybe one is reading it because it’s fun, and the fun is worth the time spent on it.)