witness

Karma: −33

witness 18 Aug 2015 0:35 UTC
3 points
on: Does random reward evoke stronger habits?
http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/schedules.htm

You cannot impose a reward schedule on yourself...

witness 9 Jun 2015 2:49 UTC
1 point
in reply to: Alicorn’s comment on: Lesswrong, Effective Altruism Forum and Slate Star Codex: Harm Reduction
I rarely bother to comment on this site but this is important meta information. Many outsider groups and rationalists in particular seem to dissolve the moment their exclusion from standard social systems is removed. The most dumbed down example I have, and I specifically desire to post as low brow and example as possible, is the episode of Malcom In The Middle titled “Morp.” Its prom backwards in case you missed that. The outsider group starts an anti-prom where they do everything ironically, and amusingly have all the same status bullshit problems over who is in charge or what should even be done as the normal kids prom. Then when some random dumb popular girls come down, feel upper class girl pity, and invite them to real prom everyone but Malcolm goes.

Less Wrong and its specific section of the rationalist community has approached this same singularity. It was all about getting enough like-minded and conveniently located people to form your own samesy, dull, cookie cutter clique just like normal people. Alicorn is a prime example of posts that expose this issue, although that whole cuddle pile bullshit is a more general example.

Much like say Atheism+, the OB/LW community has exploded into a million uncoordinated fragments merely seeking to satisfy their standard social needs. Meanwhile each of these shards has the same number of useless, weird, counterproductive group beliefs as mainstream Christians. And they’ve accomplished almost nothing except maybe funding the useless MIRI, if one even considers that an accomplishment. EA people even came and said MIRI doesn’t qualify for GiveWell.

Indeed I feel my comparison to A+ is quite apt. So much bullshit spewed about improving stuff, raising the sanity waterline vs inclusive atheism but each group did essentially the opposite of their goal.

As per my title and associated duties I here mark the collapse of “internet rationalists” as a cohesive, viable, or at all productive group. Scott has a popular blog, Elie has a full time job wasting his life but gets paid good money, and Alicorn can now throw “interesting” “dinner parties.” Also innumerable Tumblr related bullshit storms. Well, some movements accomplished less.

Adieu.

witness 11 Jun 2015 22:42 UTC
0 points
in reply to: Lumifer’s comment on: Lesswrong, Effective Altruism Forum and Slate Star Codex: Harm Reduction
If you say so, I barely come on here much. Today is the most active I’ve been in months.

witness 11 Jun 2015 21:11 UTC
0 points
in reply to: OrphanWilde’s comment on: Lesswrong, Effective Altruism Forum and Slate Star Codex: Harm Reduction
Yes but it underlines what I was saying about “Morp.” And it also addresses people who were asking why I singled out Alicorn.

Whenever someone tells me I’m only doing something for attention or that I only hate on certain things because I’m excluded then I say: “Thanks Captain Obvious.” It throws them off a lot. People who are different are different not by choice but by force. Conventional social norms exert a massive pressure on every individual even ones with non-conforming parents/siblings/peers/teachers and the only reason why it doesn’t work is because an equal or greater pressure is going the other way.

So many groups, including Less Wrong, are full of so much, conscious or subconscious, self signalling and it destroys their ability to understand their own motivations or those of similar people.

The original post is all uptight about content, but content doesn’t matter. Socializing matters. No amount of actually thought provoking content is going to save LessWrong unless the community improves. But the communities own standards won’t allow it to improve because you aren’t properly regulating who is allowed to stay, among other issues, including the aforementioned issue of the community and not the content being the problem. Creating a surviving discussion website is not the same as creating a growing discussion website.

I won’t get into the drama that will develop if I explain what I mean about regulating who can post since you wouldn’t implement my suggestion anyways. But I think many people know what I mean even if they don’t agree, and we’ll leave it at that.

witness 11 Jun 2015 20:59 UTC
0 points
in reply to: Vaniver’s comment on: Lesswrong, Effective Altruism Forum and Slate Star Codex: Harm Reduction
That’s clearly not true. Alicorn again is a perfect of example of someone who clearly wanted to be socialized. I mean… dinner parties. Yes, I cannot get over the whole dinner party thing, get over it.

More on point though, centralization is the ultimate bug bear of the left/progressive/radicals/w.e. Look at the internecine wars of feminism or socialism or atheism. Furthermore everyone wants to address their local personal issues first and also divides who is allowed to interfere in problems among demographic or identity lines.

The success of a revolutionary movement, various religions being examples, requires both that it be more correct than what came before and that it be either equally or more satisfying. One should be careful though of copying the old systems too closely. Ethical Humanist solstice parties? Good lord what a terrible idea.

witness 12 Jun 2015 23:29 UTC
−1 points
in reply to: OrphanWilde’s comment on: Lesswrong, Effective Altruism Forum and Slate Star Codex: Harm Reduction
The first 2 sentences address what you said. The rest is a massive tangent because staying on the same train of thought is hard for me. Also I was too lazy to go through the nesting to post that in a better spot.

witness 21 Apr 2015 1:59 UTC
−2 points
in reply to: advancedatheist’s comment on: Open Thread, Apr. 20 - Apr. 26, 2015
You know what he does for a living don’t you?

witness 11 Jun 2015 20:32 UTC
−3 points
in reply to: Alicorn’s comment on: Lesswrong, Effective Altruism Forum and Slate Star Codex: Harm Reduction
I scare quoted dinner parties because they are the most ridiculously conventional upper middle class thing of all time. Even more than Valium.

witness 13 Nov 2015 5:14 UTC
−13 points
0
in reply to: Lumifer’s comment on: [Link] Mainstreaming Tell Culture
This is an ignorant assertion. Just because you call something a “style” doesn’t immunize it from criticism. Guess culture is an irrational method of communication driven by a bias to avoiding emotional pain or manipulating ambiguity to manipulate a person. Its impossible to reconcile Guess Culture with the rationality promoted by this site. You can UNDERSTAND it, but its incredibly hypocritical to ADVOCATE for communication based on cognitive bias while maintaining consistency with even the broadest ideology of this site.

As far as Ask Culture, again your substituting your anecdotal feelings for an argument. You were socialized to prefer a specific kind of interaction but that doesn’t mean its superior. Ask Culture is not synonymous with radical honesty with a question attached as you are implying.

Tell culture is indisputably the superior method of communication if you take away your personal bias. I can operate perfectly well under guess or ask culture since that’s your favorite excuse for people who prefer tell culture.

Democratic Socialism is superior to American Capitalism. Immediately pressing for a shift between the systems may not be feasible, as operating effectively in society on pure tell culture is not a super good strategy, but DS is still objectively superior to AC and the same for TC>AC>GC.

witness 12 Mar 2015 23:06 UTC
−18 points
on: [LINK] Author’s Note 119: Shameless Begging
I wasnt ever going to post on this account but since I am forced to finish HPMOR, despite the massive decline in quality once it moved from rationalist to the Eliezer is obsessed with death theme, due to a quirk in my mind where I must finish reading any story I start. I saw the requests to be put into contact with official Harry Potter type people. I have done the opposite, more or less.

I have passed on a message to JK Rowling that she should stay as far away from HPMOR as possible and certainly not allow a bookish form, even for charity, to be published.

I have my reasons which would take pages to put down all of, lets just start with the fact that while the first section of the story was fabulous and actually in the same vein as the original goal wise, even if the lessons passed on were pretty different, the only thing more detestable than the evolution of Rowling’s theme is the evolution of Eliezer’s. As soon as both authors because to move into the great final lesson phase, their respective HP stories went to shit.

Plus, to be associated with certain large factions of posters on this site is to endure a fate worse than death.