You know, the sequences aren’t actually poorly written. I’ve read them all, as have most of the people here. They are a bit rambly in places, but they’re entertaining and interesting. If you’re having trouble with them, the problem might be on your end.
The problem is partly on my end, for sure; obviously, I find rambling intolerable in Internet writing, and I find it in great abundance in the sequences. You’re more tolerant of rambling, and you’re entertained by Yudkowsky’s. I also think he demonstrates mediocre literary skills when it comes to performances like varying his sentence structure. I don’t know what you think of that. My guess is you don’t much care; maybe it’s a generational thing.
I’m intrigued by what enjoyment readers here get from Yudkowsky’s sequences. Why do you all find interesting what I find amateurish and inept? Do we have vastly different tastes or standards, or both? Maybe it is the very prolixity that makes the writing appealing in founding a movement with religious overtones. Reading Yudkowsky is an experience comparable to reading the Bible.
As a side issue, I’m dismayed upon finding that ideas I had thought original to Yudkowsky were secondhand.
Of course I understand simplicity doesn’t pertain to simplicity in English! (Or in any natural language.) I don’t think you understand the language-relativity issue.
If you were willing to point me to two or three of your favorite Internet writers, whom you consider reliably enjoyable and interesting and so forth, I might find that valuable for its own sake, and might also be better able to answer your question in mutually intelligible terms.
As a side issue, I’m dismayed upon finding that ideas I had thought original to Yudkowsky were secondhand.
Having to have original ideas is a very high standard. I doubt a single one of my posts contains a truly original idea, and I don’t try–I try to figure out which ideas are useful to me, and then present why, in a format that I hope will be useful to others. Eliezer creates a lot of new catchy terms for pre-existing ideas, like “affective death spiral” for “halo effect.” I like that.
His posts are also quite short, often witty, and generally presented in an easier-to-digest format than the journal articles I might otherwise have to read to encounter the not-new ideas. You apparently don’t find his writing easy to digest or amusing in the same way I do.
Affective death spiral is not the same thing as the Halo effect, though the halo effect (/ horns effect) might be part of the mechanism of affective death spiral.
Agreed… I think the Halo effect is a sub-component of an affective death spiral, and “affective death spiral” is a term unique to LW [correct me if I’m wrong!], while ‘Halo effect’ isn’t.
I don’t know any specific examples of secondhand ideas coming off as original (indeed, he often cites experiments from the H&B literature), but there’s another possible source for the confusion. Sometimes Yudkowsky and somebody else come up with ideas independently, and those aren’t cited because Yudkowsky didn’t know they existed at the time. Drescher and Quine are two philosophers who have been mentioned as having some of the same ideas as Yudkowsky, and I can confirm the former from experience.
I’m intrigued by what enjoyment readers here get from Yudkowsky’s sequences. Why do you all find interesting what I find amateurish and inept?
I find his fictional interludes quite entertaining, because they are generally quite lively, and display a decent amount of world-building—which is one aspect of science fiction and fantasy that I particularly enjoy. I also enjoy the snark he employs when trashing opposing ideas, especially when such ideas are quite absurd. Of course, the snark doesn’t make his writing more persuasive—just more entertaining.
he demonstrates mediocre literary skills when it comes to performances like varying his sentence structure
I know I’m exposing my ignorance here, but I’m not sure what this means; can you elaborate ?
The problem is partly on my end, for sure; obviously, I find rambling intolerable in Internet writing, and I find it in great abundance in the sequences. You’re more tolerant of rambling, and you’re entertained by Yudkowsky’s. I also think he demonstrates mediocre literary skills when it comes to performances like varying his sentence structure. I don’t know what you think of that. My guess is you don’t much care; maybe it’s a generational thing.
I’m intrigued by what enjoyment readers here get from Yudkowsky’s sequences. Why do you all find interesting what I find amateurish and inept? Do we have vastly different tastes or standards, or both? Maybe it is the very prolixity that makes the writing appealing in founding a movement with religious overtones. Reading Yudkowsky is an experience comparable to reading the Bible.
As a side issue, I’m dismayed upon finding that ideas I had thought original to Yudkowsky were secondhand.
Of course I understand simplicity doesn’t pertain to simplicity in English! (Or in any natural language.) I don’t think you understand the language-relativity issue.
If you were willing to point me to two or three of your favorite Internet writers, whom you consider reliably enjoyable and interesting and so forth, I might find that valuable for its own sake, and might also be better able to answer your question in mutually intelligible terms.
Having to have original ideas is a very high standard. I doubt a single one of my posts contains a truly original idea, and I don’t try–I try to figure out which ideas are useful to me, and then present why, in a format that I hope will be useful to others. Eliezer creates a lot of new catchy terms for pre-existing ideas, like “affective death spiral” for “halo effect.” I like that.
His posts are also quite short, often witty, and generally presented in an easier-to-digest format than the journal articles I might otherwise have to read to encounter the not-new ideas. You apparently don’t find his writing easy to digest or amusing in the same way I do.
Affective death spiral is not the same thing as the Halo effect, though the halo effect (/ horns effect) might be part of the mechanism of affective death spiral.
Agreed… I think the Halo effect is a sub-component of an affective death spiral, and “affective death spiral” is a term unique to LW [correct me if I’m wrong!], while ‘Halo effect’ isn’t.
Are there specific examples? It seems to me that in most cases when he has a pre-existing idea he gives relevant sources.
I don’t know any specific examples of secondhand ideas coming off as original (indeed, he often cites experiments from the H&B literature), but there’s another possible source for the confusion. Sometimes Yudkowsky and somebody else come up with ideas independently, and those aren’t cited because Yudkowsky didn’t know they existed at the time. Drescher and Quine are two philosophers who have been mentioned as having some of the same ideas as Yudkowsky, and I can confirm the former from experience.
I find his fictional interludes quite entertaining, because they are generally quite lively, and display a decent amount of world-building—which is one aspect of science fiction and fantasy that I particularly enjoy. I also enjoy the snark he employs when trashing opposing ideas, especially when such ideas are quite absurd. Of course, the snark doesn’t make his writing more persuasive—just more entertaining.
I know I’m exposing my ignorance here, but I’m not sure what this means; can you elaborate ?