People who-have-heard-of-but-are-not-really-into LessWrong, in my conversations with them, have dismissed the site as an echo-chamber of inside references.
In my experience, this is one of the most common patterns of dismissal out there. It’s also one of the easiest to dismiss: every intellectual movement will contain communications among insiders, and those communications will use terms that outsiders won’t be familiar with.
“Wow, you mean people write for their audience? What a surprise!”
Or: “Every field has inside references.” And then list examples from whichever mathematical or scientific field you’re most familiar with.
Now, whether or not this is a desirable pattern to fall into is another issue entirely.
In my experience, this is one of the most common patterns of dismissal out there. It’s also one of the easiest to dismiss: every intellectual movement will contain communications among insiders, and those communications will use terms that outsiders won’t be familiar with.
“Wow, you mean people write for their audience? What a surprise!”
Or: “Every field has inside references.” And then list examples from whichever mathematical or scientific field you’re most familiar with.
Now, whether or not this is a desirable pattern to fall into is another issue entirely.