I agree that eigening isn’t the key concept for alignment or other scientific process. Sure you could describe any consensus that way, but they could be either very good or just awful depending on how much valid analysis went into each step of doing that eigening. In a really good situation, progress toward consensus is only superficially describable as eigening. The real progress is happening by careful thinking and communicating. The eigening isn’t happening by reputation but by quality of work. In a bad field, eigening is doing most of the work.
Referring to them both as eigening seems to obscure the difference between good and bad science/theory creation.
I agree that eigening isn’t the key concept for alignment or other scientific process. Sure you could describe any consensus that way, but they could be either very good or just awful depending on how much valid analysis went into each step of doing that eigening. In a really good situation, progress toward consensus is only superficially describable as eigening. The real progress is happening by careful thinking and communicating. The eigening isn’t happening by reputation but by quality of work. In a bad field, eigening is doing most of the work.
Referring to them both as eigening seems to obscure the difference between good and bad science/theory creation.