Whether or not it would be beneficial to particular people who are already here, more ways of expressing ideas are always valuable to someone. Different people respond to different presentations, and more variety can attract more people to try to improve their thinking who wouldn’t otherwise be here on LW or be receptive to the ideas as customarily presented here.
And well written dialogs have a whole lot of tradition behind them for this kind of thing. Douglas Hofstadter’s “Godel, Escher Bach” is a well known book popularizing several aspects of formal mathematics and computer science, which alternates chapters with comedic dialogues as interludes whose structure and content mirror the chapters’ content. Then of course there’s Galileo’s “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.” Although his choice of characters is a bit less tactful, historically speaking, Simplicio does introduce some humor for a discerning reader. And while not comedic, Plato’s dialogues do a great job conveying what could otherwise be extremely dry ideas.
I would certainly love to read something like this, even as someone who likes the more formal treatments given here. (And yes, this is an offer to read a sample and provide feedback if you want it).
Whether or not it would be beneficial to particular people who are already here, more ways of expressing ideas are always valuable to someone. Different people respond to different presentations, and more variety can attract more people to try to improve their thinking who wouldn’t otherwise be here on LW or be receptive to the ideas as customarily presented here.
And well written dialogs have a whole lot of tradition behind them for this kind of thing. Douglas Hofstadter’s “Godel, Escher Bach” is a well known book popularizing several aspects of formal mathematics and computer science, which alternates chapters with comedic dialogues as interludes whose structure and content mirror the chapters’ content. Then of course there’s Galileo’s “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.” Although his choice of characters is a bit less tactful, historically speaking, Simplicio does introduce some humor for a discerning reader. And while not comedic, Plato’s dialogues do a great job conveying what could otherwise be extremely dry ideas.
I would certainly love to read something like this, even as someone who likes the more formal treatments given here. (And yes, this is an offer to read a sample and provide feedback if you want it).