Spending a year writing a book isn’t exactly watching an episode of anime. The question would, under other circumstances, be just—but I don’t care to justify myself here. Elsewhere, perhaps.
The question would, under other circumstances, be just—but I don’t care to justify myself here. Elsewhere, perhaps.
(My upvote unfortunately only brings the parent to 0.) This is the approach that I would have taken (and recommended). The author and context of a post matters. Coming from an author who is consistently arrogant and disrespectful changes the meaning of the question from curiosity to challenge. Justifying oneself in response serves to validate the challenge, signalling that such challenges are acceptable and lowering one’s status. It is far better to convey, usually through minimal action, that the ‘question’ is inappropriate.
I would not have even framed the topic with the phrase ‘be just’. You can explain the reasons motivating a decision (and even explain such reasoning for the purposes of PR) without it being a justification. It’s just and interesting question.
This sounds like a dodge—yes, we can certainly all agree that there are worse uses for SIAI’s time, but the question of whether SIAI is working most effectively is still a valid and important one.
Let him who has never used time in a less than maximally-utility-producing way cast the first stone.
Spending a year writing a book isn’t exactly watching an episode of anime. The question would, under other circumstances, be just—but I don’t care to justify myself here. Elsewhere, perhaps.
Estimated number of copies of said book I will buy: 30
Just putting it out there.
(My upvote unfortunately only brings the parent to 0.) This is the approach that I would have taken (and recommended). The author and context of a post matters. Coming from an author who is consistently arrogant and disrespectful changes the meaning of the question from curiosity to challenge. Justifying oneself in response serves to validate the challenge, signalling that such challenges are acceptable and lowering one’s status. It is far better to convey, usually through minimal action, that the ‘question’ is inappropriate.
I would not have even framed the topic with the phrase ‘be just’. You can explain the reasons motivating a decision (and even explain such reasoning for the purposes of PR) without it being a justification. It’s just and interesting question.
This sounds like a dodge—yes, we can certainly all agree that there are worse uses for SIAI’s time, but the question of whether SIAI is working most effectively is still a valid and important one.