A clever point, but is it really useful to compare the sequences to a textbook? Maybe a textbook at some community college somewhere. I personally found the sequences to be overloaded with anecdote and motivation, and rather lacking in technical substance.
There is one thing that the post and comment part of this site has that the sequences do not have. Dialog. Posters and commenters are challenged to clarify their positions and to defend their arguments. In the sequences, on the other hand, it often seemed that Eliezer was either busy demolishing strawmen, or he was energetically proving some point which I had never really apprehended.
The “sequences” posts have comment sections too—no?
Yes, but I don’t think the discussion was all that vigorous. Eliezer was making a full size posting every day back then. He really didn’t have the time to engage commenters, even if the commenters had tried to engage him.
Evidently the definition of “rationality” is not up for debate.
A clever point, but is it really useful to compare the sequences to a textbook? Maybe a textbook at some community college somewhere. I personally found the sequences to be overloaded with anecdote and motivation, and rather lacking in technical substance.
There is one thing that the post and comment part of this site has that the sequences do not have. Dialog. Posters and commenters are challenged to clarify their positions and to defend their arguments. In the sequences, on the other hand, it often seemed that Eliezer was either busy demolishing strawmen, or he was energetically proving some point which I had never really apprehended.
The “sequences” posts have comment sections too—no?
There are only a few posts with disabled comments—such as this one:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/31/what_do_we_mean_by_rationality/
Evidently the definition of “rationality” is not up for debate. Perhaps it is the royal “we”.
I think that’s a bug, not a feature. I’ll look into it.
Yes, but I don’t think the discussion was all that vigorous. Eliezer was making a full size posting every day back then. He really didn’t have the time to engage commenters, even if the commenters had tried to engage him.
Cute.
Pretty often, when a post has an obvious flaw, or attacks a straw man, that is pointed out in the comments.