Are you sure you have pinpointed the right culprit? Why exactly “rationality”? “Zooming in” and “zooming out” would lead to potentially different conclusions.
The quotes indicate that I’m not blaming rationality, I’m blaming something that’s called rationality. You’re replying as if I’m blaming real rationality, which I’m not.
Was there really a significant number of people or is this just, well, an urban legend?
Censoring substantial references to the basilisk was partly done in the name of protecting the people affected. This requires that there be a significant number of people, not just that there be the normal number of people who can be affected by any unusual idea.
I think it is better to give Eliezer a chance to explain himself why he did what he did.
His explanations have varied. The explanation you linked to is fairly innocuous; it implies that he is only banning discussion because people get harmed when thinking about it. Someone else linked a screengrab of Eliezer’s original comment which implies that he banned it because it can make it easier for superintelligences to acausally blackmail us, which is very different from the one you linked.
Censoring substantial references to the basilisk was partly done in the name of protecting the people affected. This requires that there be a significant number of people, not just that there be the normal number of people who can be affected by any unusual idea.
Curiously, it is not necessary. For example, it would suffice that people who do the censoring overestimate the number of people that might need protection. Or consider PR explanation that I gave in another comment which similarly does not require a large number of people affected. Some other parts of your comment are also addressed there.
It is certainly possible that few people were affected by the Basilisk, and the people who do the censoring either overestimate the number or are just using it as an excuse. But this reflects badly on LW all by itself, and also amounts to “you cannot trust the people who do the censoring”, a position which is at least as unpopular as my initial one.
The quotes indicate that I’m not blaming rationality, I’m blaming something that’s called rationality. You’re replying as if I’m blaming real rationality, which I’m not.
Censoring substantial references to the basilisk was partly done in the name of protecting the people affected. This requires that there be a significant number of people, not just that there be the normal number of people who can be affected by any unusual idea.
His explanations have varied. The explanation you linked to is fairly innocuous; it implies that he is only banning discussion because people get harmed when thinking about it. Someone else linked a screengrab of Eliezer’s original comment which implies that he banned it because it can make it easier for superintelligences to acausally blackmail us, which is very different from the one you linked.
Curiously, it is not necessary. For example, it would suffice that people who do the censoring overestimate the number of people that might need protection. Or consider PR explanation that I gave in another comment which similarly does not require a large number of people affected. Some other parts of your comment are also addressed there.
It is certainly possible that few people were affected by the Basilisk, and the people who do the censoring either overestimate the number or are just using it as an excuse. But this reflects badly on LW all by itself, and also amounts to “you cannot trust the people who do the censoring”, a position which is at least as unpopular as my initial one.
I would guess that the dislike of censorship is not an unpopular position, whatever its motivations.