Mostly standard arguments, often with nonstandard examples and lively presentation, for a related cluster of philosophical views: physicalism, the appearance of free will as outgrowth of cognitive algorithm, his brand of metaethics, the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics, the irrelevance of verbal disputes, etc.
A selective review of the psychology heuristics and biases literature, with entertaining examples and descriptions
A bunch of suggested heuristics, based on personal experience and thought, for debiasing, e.g. leaving a line of retreat to reduce resistance
Some thoughtful exposition of applications of intro probability and Bayes’ theorem, e.g. conservation of expected evidence
Interesting reframings and insights into a number of philosophical problems using the Solomonoff Induction framework, and the “how could this intuition emerge from an algorithm?” approach
Debate about AI with Robin, a science fiction story, a bunch of meta posts, and assorted minor elements
“So, there’s a million words of these Sequences that you think I should read. What do I get out of reading them?” then what’s the answer to that?
The large chunks that are review of existing psychology and philosophy would be hard to get from one or a few books (as they are extracted from far and wide), although those would then be less filtered. They may be more enjoyable and addictive than an organized study program, i.e. as popular science/philosophy, so folk who wouldn’t undertake the former alone find themselves doing the latter, and then perhaps also doing the former. This would depend on how they felt about the writing style, their own habits, and so forth. The other elements would have to be evaluated more idiosyncratically.
Now, because of the online forum element of Less Wrong, there is another big benefit in selectively attracting a very unusual audience, and providing common background knowledge and norms that help discussion on most (if not all) discussions to be relatively truth-seeking compared to most online fora.
You seem to be saying “we don’t think they actually do anything much.” Surely that’s not the case.
Well, for one thing, I’m speaking only for myself, and I’m more skeptical of the novelty and impact per reader (as mentioned above) than others.
But I do think that reading the sequences on probability, changing your mind, and other core topics (as opposed to quantum mechanics) causes some improvement in quality of argumentation, readiness to accede to evidence, and similar metrics (as judged by 3rd party raters). I don’t think the effect is enormous, i.e. well-read physics or philosophy grad students will have garnered most of the apparent benefits from other sources, but it’s there. And interest, enjoyment, and accessibility aren’t peanuts either.
Major elements to consider:
Mostly standard arguments, often with nonstandard examples and lively presentation, for a related cluster of philosophical views: physicalism, the appearance of free will as outgrowth of cognitive algorithm, his brand of metaethics, the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics, the irrelevance of verbal disputes, etc.
A selective review of the psychology heuristics and biases literature, with entertaining examples and descriptions
A bunch of suggested heuristics, based on personal experience and thought, for debiasing, e.g. leaving a line of retreat to reduce resistance
Some thoughtful exposition of applications of intro probability and Bayes’ theorem, e.g. conservation of expected evidence
Interesting reframings and insights into a number of philosophical problems using the Solomonoff Induction framework, and the “how could this intuition emerge from an algorithm?” approach
Debate about AI with Robin, a science fiction story, a bunch of meta posts, and assorted minor elements
The large chunks that are review of existing psychology and philosophy would be hard to get from one or a few books (as they are extracted from far and wide), although those would then be less filtered. They may be more enjoyable and addictive than an organized study program, i.e. as popular science/philosophy, so folk who wouldn’t undertake the former alone find themselves doing the latter, and then perhaps also doing the former. This would depend on how they felt about the writing style, their own habits, and so forth. The other elements would have to be evaluated more idiosyncratically.
Now, because of the online forum element of Less Wrong, there is another big benefit in selectively attracting a very unusual audience, and providing common background knowledge and norms that help discussion on most (if not all) discussions to be relatively truth-seeking compared to most online fora.
Well, for one thing, I’m speaking only for myself, and I’m more skeptical of the novelty and impact per reader (as mentioned above) than others.
But I do think that reading the sequences on probability, changing your mind, and other core topics (as opposed to quantum mechanics) causes some improvement in quality of argumentation, readiness to accede to evidence, and similar metrics (as judged by 3rd party raters). I don’t think the effect is enormous, i.e. well-read physics or philosophy grad students will have garnered most of the apparent benefits from other sources, but it’s there. And interest, enjoyment, and accessibility aren’t peanuts either.
Also see one mathematician’s opinion: Yes, a blog.