Angel, I’m not arguing that you so generalized—let us both be careful not to put words into the other’s mouth. It seemed to me, though, that your discussion with Robin—and certainly your commentary in conversations elsewhere—had an element of “How can they possibly not see it?!?” Now, this blindness could be due to a gender gap rather than a sex gap, or even due to personal incompetence of Robin and myself. But it seems to me that there is an element of “naive gender realism” here, in which you suppose that you directly see the universe the way it really is, and the annoying Other is blind. It is necessary to take a step back from this and realize that “annoyance” is not a direct element of external reality. If you are annoyed and someone else isn’t, it doesn’t mean that one of you is right and the other is wrong, it may mean that you are different people. Whether or not this is due to sex is ultimately irrelevant, but sex difference is certainly a famous generator of such gaps.
In truth, I don’t expect people to be able to identify exactly what bugs them, because I don’t expect human beings in general to be that good at understanding their own brains. But your advice to Robin, well-meant as it was, was not based in the same goals that Robin pursues, or myself for that matter. Still if you have specific suggestions for “things that male writers on rationality inadvertently do that turn off female readers”, or even just “Here’s the exact sentence where I stopped reading”, then I am, according to my own goals, interested. I am not solicitous of growing female rationalists for the same reason you are, but nonetheless I care that they should not depart the Way, male or female. I am not going to adopt your goals, but we may have common ground for discussion nonetheless.
Angel, I’m not arguing that you so generalized—let us both be careful not to put words into the other’s mouth. It seemed to me, though, that your discussion with Robin—and certainly your commentary in conversations elsewhere—had an element of “How can they possibly not see it?!?” Now, this blindness could be due to a gender gap rather than a sex gap, or even due to personal incompetence of Robin and myself. But it seems to me that there is an element of “naive gender realism” here, in which you suppose that you directly see the universe the way it really is, and the annoying Other is blind. It is necessary to take a step back from this and realize that “annoyance” is not a direct element of external reality. If you are annoyed and someone else isn’t, it doesn’t mean that one of you is right and the other is wrong, it may mean that you are different people. Whether or not this is due to sex is ultimately irrelevant, but sex difference is certainly a famous generator of such gaps.
In truth, I don’t expect people to be able to identify exactly what bugs them, because I don’t expect human beings in general to be that good at understanding their own brains. But your advice to Robin, well-meant as it was, was not based in the same goals that Robin pursues, or myself for that matter. Still if you have specific suggestions for “things that male writers on rationality inadvertently do that turn off female readers”, or even just “Here’s the exact sentence where I stopped reading”, then I am, according to my own goals, interested. I am not solicitous of growing female rationalists for the same reason you are, but nonetheless I care that they should not depart the Way, male or female. I am not going to adopt your goals, but we may have common ground for discussion nonetheless.