There are a bunch of conversations going on about the topic right (some in semi-private which might be public soonish).
Cool! And I appreciate the difficulty of the task at hand. :)
When I model these conversations, one failure mode I’m worried about is that the “more civility” position gets lumped together with other things that Lesswrong is probably right to be scared of.
So, the following is to delineate my own views from things I’m not saying:
I could imagine being fine with Bridgewater culture in many (but not all) contexts. I hate that in “today’s climate” it is difficult to talk about certain topics. I think it’s often the case that people complaining about tone or about not feeling welcome shouldn’t expect to have their needs accommodated.
And yet I still find some features of what I perceive to be “rationalist culture” very off-putting.
I don’t think I phrased it as well in my first comment, but I can fully get behind what Raemon said elsewhere in this thread:
Some of the language about “holding truth sacred” [...] has came across to me with a tone of single-minded focus that feels like not being willing to put an upper bound on a heart transplant, rather than earnestly asking the question “how do we get the most valuable truthseeking the most effective way?”
So it’s not that I’m saying that I’d prefer a culture where truth-seeking is occasionally completely abandoned because of some other consideration. Just that the side that superficially looks more virtuous when it comes to truth-seeking (for instance because they boldly proclaim the importance of not being bothered by tone/tact, downvote notifications, etc.) isn’t automatically what’s best in the long run.
Edited to add: I admit it’s a delicate balance to walk. But sometimes, people are inconsiderate in a way that definitely harms discussions. The principle of charity isn’t just a thing in philosophy to make people feel good; there’s also some methodological use to it. Likewise with trying to understand that other people have different minds from one’s own. There has to be a way to point out inconsiderateness that doesn’t get met with a response a la “tact doesn’t matter because truth is the only virtue.”
Cool! And I appreciate the difficulty of the task at hand. :)
When I model these conversations, one failure mode I’m worried about is that the “more civility” position gets lumped together with other things that Lesswrong is probably right to be scared of.
So, the following is to delineate my own views from things I’m not saying:
I could imagine being fine with Bridgewater culture in many (but not all) contexts. I hate that in “today’s climate” it is difficult to talk about certain topics. I think it’s often the case that people complaining about tone or about not feeling welcome shouldn’t expect to have their needs accommodated.
And yet I still find some features of what I perceive to be “rationalist culture” very off-putting.
I don’t think I phrased it as well in my first comment, but I can fully get behind what Raemon said elsewhere in this thread:
So it’s not that I’m saying that I’d prefer a culture where truth-seeking is occasionally completely abandoned because of some other consideration. Just that the side that superficially looks more virtuous when it comes to truth-seeking (for instance because they boldly proclaim the importance of not being bothered by tone/tact, downvote notifications, etc.) isn’t automatically what’s best in the long run.
Edited to add: I admit it’s a delicate balance to walk. But sometimes, people are inconsiderate in a way that definitely harms discussions. The principle of charity isn’t just a thing in philosophy to make people feel good; there’s also some methodological use to it. Likewise with trying to understand that other people have different minds from one’s own. There has to be a way to point out inconsiderateness that doesn’t get met with a response a la “tact doesn’t matter because truth is the only virtue.”