It would be much better if it were less inflammatory. The last sentence, in particular, is reprehensible. But you respond to the substance of the criticism you get, not the criticism you might want or wish to have at a later time. Otherwise you might as well be slashing your own tires. The vast majority of the discussion below is simple tone policing. Someone’s telling you that your house is on fire, and you’re complaining that they’re shouting.
It’s correct that it’s incredibly troubling that the author didn’t even consider romantic drama in designing his bootcamp. It’s correct that these are really not impressive outcomes. They’re moderately-functional outcomes. Shouldn’t there be some sort of control group where people attempt a similar level of life-changing upward momentum on their own and see if it was actually effective to cede their autonomy? It is correct that trying to LARP a bizarre combination of Ender’s Game and Fight Club is perhaps not a sign that this person has any idea how grown-ups work.
And most troubling of all, why weren’t these issues noted by anyone who Duncan ran this idea by first? Why does it take this level of willingness to break with social norms to notice the skulls? And no, intoning “I Have Noticed The Skulls” doesn’t mean you’ve actually addressed the problem unless you actually address it. Twelfth virtue!
In a broader sense, what the hell happened? I read the Sequences roughly when they came out, commented here occasionally, moved over to SSC and, more often, the associated subreddit. I donate effectively and regularly, I do my best to tax people’s bullshit with bets, and I do feats with spaced repetition. Apparently while I was doing that and not being directly involved in the community, it turned into… this. Scott Alexander is getting published in moderately prestigious outlets. AI risk is mainstream. Effective Altruism is considerably more mainstream than it was. But the community at the center of it has, if anything, regressed, from what I’ve seen here.
I strongly support this post.
It would be much better if it were less inflammatory. The last sentence, in particular, is reprehensible. But you respond to the substance of the criticism you get, not the criticism you might want or wish to have at a later time. Otherwise you might as well be slashing your own tires. The vast majority of the discussion below is simple tone policing. Someone’s telling you that your house is on fire, and you’re complaining that they’re shouting.
It’s correct that it’s incredibly troubling that the author didn’t even consider romantic drama in designing his bootcamp. It’s correct that these are really not impressive outcomes. They’re moderately-functional outcomes. Shouldn’t there be some sort of control group where people attempt a similar level of life-changing upward momentum on their own and see if it was actually effective to cede their autonomy? It is correct that trying to LARP a bizarre combination of Ender’s Game and Fight Club is perhaps not a sign that this person has any idea how grown-ups work.
And most troubling of all, why weren’t these issues noted by anyone who Duncan ran this idea by first? Why does it take this level of willingness to break with social norms to notice the skulls? And no, intoning “I Have Noticed The Skulls” doesn’t mean you’ve actually addressed the problem unless you actually address it. Twelfth virtue!
In a broader sense, what the hell happened? I read the Sequences roughly when they came out, commented here occasionally, moved over to SSC and, more often, the associated subreddit. I donate effectively and regularly, I do my best to tax people’s bullshit with bets, and I do feats with spaced repetition. Apparently while I was doing that and not being directly involved in the community, it turned into… this. Scott Alexander is getting published in moderately prestigious outlets. AI risk is mainstream. Effective Altruism is considerably more mainstream than it was. But the community at the center of it has, if anything, regressed, from what I’ve seen here.
Maybe it wasn’t designed for grown-ups. To quote Duncan,