which makes me wonder, where are the teenage would-be rationalists hanging out today? There seem to be fewer of them here than I would have expected.
I think it’s plausible that the majority of teen LW readers stay silent, simply because they are more likely to be intimidated by the quality of the discussion, and more likely to think they cannot make a valuable comment.
At least, I’m a teenage reader and the above mentioned things describe my attitude. I suspect though that it applies to others too.
I think it’s plausible that the majority of teen LW readers stay silent, simply because they are more likely to be intimidated by the quality of the discussion, and more likely to think they cannot make a valuable comment.
I wonder if we should have a monthly social thread, where people can ask questions that don’t necessarily advance the state of the art of rationality, or just socialize and talk about their favorite books or music.
I’d like to have a full-on non-meta subreddit and/or subgroup-blog. I don’t understand Eliezer’s concern that this would pollute the quality of the site. Aggressive moderation will work and we can only hope that the site goes mainstream and attracts more eyeballs for the more important things we discuss here.
I think that the intimidation you describe is applicable to all age groups. My guess is that it takes time to filter into the transhumanist network from the mere smart geek area. On the other side of the coin, we have the fact that older folk don’t make as much use of the internet have less chance to find LW. Thus, we get mostly 20-somethings involved.
I think that the intimidation you describe is applicable to all age groups.
Yes; but “the shy do not learn”, so intimidation must be overcome. Of course this should not preclude the community from using accessible terminology when possible, or creating “entry points” for beginners.
The majority of people reading everything online stay silent, only a small percentage of people stop being lurkers. I wonder if that percentage is better or worse on Less Wrong. And I agree that Less Wrong is very intimidating to new posters.
I think it’s plausible that the majority of teen LW readers stay silent, simply because they are more likely to be intimidated by the quality of the discussion, and more likely to think they cannot make a valuable comment.
At least, I’m a teenage reader and the above mentioned things describe my attitude. I suspect though that it applies to others too.
I wonder if we should have a monthly social thread, where people can ask questions that don’t necessarily advance the state of the art of rationality, or just socialize and talk about their favorite books or music.
I’d like to have a full-on non-meta subreddit and/or subgroup-blog. I don’t understand Eliezer’s concern that this would pollute the quality of the site. Aggressive moderation will work and we can only hope that the site goes mainstream and attracts more eyeballs for the more important things we discuss here.
I think that the intimidation you describe is applicable to all age groups. My guess is that it takes time to filter into the transhumanist network from the mere smart geek area. On the other side of the coin, we have the fact that older folk don’t make as much use of the internet have less chance to find LW. Thus, we get mostly 20-somethings involved.
Yes; but “the shy do not learn”, so intimidation must be overcome. Of course this should not preclude the community from using accessible terminology when possible, or creating “entry points” for beginners.
The majority of people reading everything online stay silent, only a small percentage of people stop being lurkers. I wonder if that percentage is better or worse on Less Wrong. And I agree that Less Wrong is very intimidating to new posters.