If you want to emphasize that power in your writing, I’d recommend that when you talk about these emotional movements you use ‘you’ pronouns or speak about a community.
That’s actually how it came out of me in the first draft. I noticed it and cleaned it up. Some part of me wanted to pressure people to feel compelled, and wants to teach people and present profound visions rather than admit I’m just experiencing things and projecting on others. And its desire isn’t emanating from devotion to truth. It leads me toward confusion. So noticing this and cleaning it up was helpful for me because it highlights for me a piece of something to digest and let go of. And the result is that my writing is cleaner and more honest.
In terms of social dynamics, if someone needs that kind of power in my writing to hear my message, and I have to twist myself a little away from the truth in order to deliver that power to their liking, then I’m in service to them. Why? What if they don’t like my writing anyway? Ah, now I have to start pressuring them in order for me to get validation… and I go insane.
It’s hard for me to read what you are serving in offering this recommendation. I imagine the conscious thought is to be some kind of helpful. I like the spirit of connection there. I don’t plan on shaping my communications that way though.
Secondly, to preserve the flow of writing, it’s important to use words/phrases that don’t need links to be understood. For example, the way you use ‘grok’ or ‘information asymmetry’ breaks the flow.
As Yoav indicates, this is just a Less Wrong cultural norm. I would agree with you in other contexts. Here, I hyperlink (a) terms that I imagine most people here already know but some might need help with, and (b) references to other ideas in LW rationality space (like when I link to Mandatory Secret Identities in referring to how running a rationality dojo isn’t for everyone, because that Sequence post highlighted a similar idea). That’s the standard I sort of absorbed by example years ago.
If the standard of writing and linking here has changed, though, I’d be happy to learn about it. I mean no confusion or disrespect.
The mixture of emotional states with values is very powerful, especially when you share a common identity and goal with your audience. Good writing.
That’s actually how it came out of me in the first draft. I noticed it and cleaned it up. Some part of me wanted to pressure people to feel compelled, and wants to teach people and present profound visions rather than admit I’m just experiencing things and projecting on others. And its desire isn’t emanating from devotion to truth. It leads me toward confusion. So noticing this and cleaning it up was helpful for me because it highlights for me a piece of something to digest and let go of. And the result is that my writing is cleaner and more honest.
In terms of social dynamics, if someone needs that kind of power in my writing to hear my message, and I have to twist myself a little away from the truth in order to deliver that power to their liking, then I’m in service to them. Why? What if they don’t like my writing anyway? Ah, now I have to start pressuring them in order for me to get validation… and I go insane.
It’s hard for me to read what you are serving in offering this recommendation. I imagine the conscious thought is to be some kind of helpful. I like the spirit of connection there. I don’t plan on shaping my communications that way though.
As Yoav indicates, this is just a Less Wrong cultural norm. I would agree with you in other contexts. Here, I hyperlink (a) terms that I imagine most people here already know but some might need help with, and (b) references to other ideas in LW rationality space (like when I link to Mandatory Secret Identities in referring to how running a rationality dojo isn’t for everyone, because that Sequence post highlighted a similar idea). That’s the standard I sort of absorbed by example years ago.
If the standard of writing and linking here has changed, though, I’d be happy to learn about it. I mean no confusion or disrespect.
Thank you.