This is really concerning to me. Also, what is the rationale behind obfuscating basilisks? From what I understand, it could lead to thoughts of, “There’s no point to all this after all,” but there exists many other avenues to arrive at that same thought; why attempt to bury LW’s avenue? It signals quite disturbingly, “We do not wish to risk disillusionment of our followers.” Would those particularly vulnerable to such thoughts not benefit from being taught how to build mental fortitude without sacrificing open-mindedness?
I don’t specifically know how the above might be accomplished, but surely deleting critiques and other signals considered unsavoury will only increase the probability of a mental breakdown. What is the argument for helping each other tackle basilisks in a safe environment? Hiding the cause does not deal with the underlying susceptibility. I understand deletion of annoying noise, but how can anything reasoned that does not utilise Dark Arts be considered noise when presenting a sound argument?
A separate point: Harry advocates for scientific secrecy in HP:MoR, as an analogue to how powerful wizards keep their most powerful tricks secret. However, the latter is widely known to be an agreed cultural convention of the magical world, as is the rationale for doing so understood. Hiding active secrecy without sharing a reason for same only inspires revulsion to that secrecy. The analogue is intriguing and not without merit, but only insofar as it stays an analogue and not a permutation.
Edit: Perhaps I should clarify that I truly am asking questions—they are not rhetorical by any means. If I am wrong, please tell me how; that is the point of the site, yes?
what is the rationale behind obfuscating basilisks?
To use a metaphor… The original basilisk was suppressed, not just because some people were frightened by the idea of making deals with demons, but because the site admins thought that the methods proposed might lead to people really getting entangled with real demons; and they will hang on to that belief until someone demonstrates, using the logic of a demonological theory that they accept, that the methods don’t work.
Harry advocates for scientific secrecy in HP:MoR [...]
Not to mention the fact that his example (Szilard keeping the effectiveness of graphite as a neutron moderator secret) dates back to before the Internet, and hence before the Streisand effect was much of an issue.
I made a similar post a few days ago, thinking that at any point in Lesswrong there’s at least a few people that think they have basilisks and are just too hesitant to tell others about them. No one came forward, so I guess they aren’t as common as I thought. I didn’t think of calling them basilisks until they were referred to as such in the comments.
This is really concerning to me. Also, what is the rationale behind obfuscating basilisks? From what I understand, it could lead to thoughts of, “There’s no point to all this after all,” but there exists many other avenues to arrive at that same thought; why attempt to bury LW’s avenue? It signals quite disturbingly, “We do not wish to risk disillusionment of our followers.” Would those particularly vulnerable to such thoughts not benefit from being taught how to build mental fortitude without sacrificing open-mindedness?
I don’t specifically know how the above might be accomplished, but surely deleting critiques and other signals considered unsavoury will only increase the probability of a mental breakdown. What is the argument for helping each other tackle basilisks in a safe environment? Hiding the cause does not deal with the underlying susceptibility. I understand deletion of annoying noise, but how can anything reasoned that does not utilise Dark Arts be considered noise when presenting a sound argument?
A separate point:
Harry advocates for scientific secrecy in HP:MoR, as an analogue to how powerful wizards keep their most powerful tricks secret. However, the latter is widely known to be an agreed cultural convention of the magical world, as is the rationale for doing so understood. Hiding active secrecy without sharing a reason for same only inspires revulsion to that secrecy. The analogue is intriguing and not without merit, but only insofar as it stays an analogue and not a permutation.
Edit: Perhaps I should clarify that I truly am asking questions—they are not rhetorical by any means. If I am wrong, please tell me how; that is the point of the site, yes?
To use a metaphor… The original basilisk was suppressed, not just because some people were frightened by the idea of making deals with demons, but because the site admins thought that the methods proposed might lead to people really getting entangled with real demons; and they will hang on to that belief until someone demonstrates, using the logic of a demonological theory that they accept, that the methods don’t work.
Not to mention the fact that his example (Szilard keeping the effectiveness of graphite as a neutron moderator secret) dates back to before the Internet, and hence before the Streisand effect was much of an issue.
Funnily enough, I made this post not long after you did.
I made a similar post a few days ago, thinking that at any point in Lesswrong there’s at least a few people that think they have basilisks and are just too hesitant to tell others about them. No one came forward, so I guess they aren’t as common as I thought. I didn’t think of calling them basilisks until they were referred to as such in the comments.