(a) My experience with the sociology of academia has been very much in line with what Lukeprog’s friend, Shminux and RolfAndreassen describe. This is the culture that I was coming from in writing my post titled Existential Risk and Public Relations. Retrospectively I realize that the modesty norm is unusually strong in academia and to that extent I was off-base in my criticism.
The modesty norms have some advantages and disadvantages. I think that it’s appropriate for even the best people take the view “I’m part of a vast undertaking; if I hadn’t gotten there first it’s not unlikely that someone else would have gotten there within a few decades.” However, I’m bothered by the fact that the norm is so strong that innocuous questions/comments which quite are weak signals of immodesty are frowned upon.
(b) I agree with cousin it that it would be good for SIAI staff to “communicate more carefully, like Holden Karnofsky or Carl Shulman.”
I agree with cousin it that it would be good for SIAI staff to “communicate more carefully, like Holden Karnofsky or Carl Shulman.”
I agree with this. I probably would have never voiced any skepticism/criticism if most SI/LW folks would be more like Holden Karnofsky, Carl Shulman, Nick Bostrom or cousin_it.
(a) My experience with the sociology of academia has been very much in line with what Lukeprog’s friend, Shminux and RolfAndreassen describe. This is the culture that I was coming from in writing my post titled Existential Risk and Public Relations. Retrospectively I realize that the modesty norm is unusually strong in academia and to that extent I was off-base in my criticism.
The modesty norms have some advantages and disadvantages. I think that it’s appropriate for even the best people take the view “I’m part of a vast undertaking; if I hadn’t gotten there first it’s not unlikely that someone else would have gotten there within a few decades.” However, I’m bothered by the fact that the norm is so strong that innocuous questions/comments which quite are weak signals of immodesty are frowned upon.
(b) I agree with cousin it that it would be good for SIAI staff to “communicate more carefully, like Holden Karnofsky or Carl Shulman.”
I agree with this. I probably would have never voiced any skepticism/criticism if most SI/LW folks would be more like Holden Karnofsky, Carl Shulman, Nick Bostrom or cousin_it.