I like how this is similar to my last few years but in reverse. I spent a year or so diligently studying rationality as a SingInst Visiting Fellow followed by realizing that I was a few levels above nearly any other aspiring rationalist.
My own perspective on this is that most of the aspiring rationalists in the community have their own specialties and niches, and that if I blind myself to skills other than my own, they all look lower-level, but that if I pay attention to what they’re focused on then I see things I can learn from them. Or to put it more succinctly, their levels are in different character classes. While I certainly don’t have faith in anyone’s sanity, I don’t feel like this should put me on an opposing side under ordinary circumstances. I now regret not having met you when I was in the Bay area for rationality bootcamp or Burning Man, but hopefully will get a chance to remedy that the next time I’m in the area.
I agree with this perspective and in retrospect should really have emphasized the “there are many skills of rationality and I only claim to be excellent along those dimensions that I (probably after-the-fact) deem important, skills relating to building lots of models without getting attached to them and finding subtle ways in which concepts are dissatisfactory and must be improved” aspect of my alleged superiority to everything under the sun.
These skills don’t seem to actually slay any problem-monsters or do anything helpful, where wizards and clerics leave a trail of steaming corpses of those monster types. Your rare class seems to be an NPC one, like commoner or adept, which would give you a low CR.
My own perspective on this is that most of the aspiring rationalists in the community have their own specialties and niches, and that if I blind myself to skills other than my own, they all look lower-level, but that if I pay attention to what they’re focused on then I see things I can learn from them. Or to put it more succinctly, their levels are in different character classes. While I certainly don’t have faith in anyone’s sanity, I don’t feel like this should put me on an opposing side under ordinary circumstances. I now regret not having met you when I was in the Bay area for rationality bootcamp or Burning Man, but hopefully will get a chance to remedy that the next time I’m in the area.
I agree with this perspective and in retrospect should really have emphasized the “there are many skills of rationality and I only claim to be excellent along those dimensions that I (probably after-the-fact) deem important, skills relating to building lots of models without getting attached to them and finding subtle ways in which concepts are dissatisfactory and must be improved” aspect of my alleged superiority to everything under the sun.
These skills don’t seem to actually slay any problem-monsters or do anything helpful, where wizards and clerics leave a trail of steaming corpses of those monster types. Your rare class seems to be an NPC one, like commoner or adept, which would give you a low CR.