What is your intended audience, and what is the intended effect of reading these sequences? “Politics is the Mind-Killer” and “Well-Kept gardens die by pacifism” seem particularly relevant to online communities, for instance.
It was intended for new people on LW, who should be introduced to our “community values” (even without reading the whole Sequences). Also for smart people outside LW, who are curious what is LW about; and might decide to join later.
In both cases, the goal is make clear what LW (and x-rationality) is, and what it is not, in a short amount of text. Perhaps writing a new text would be better, but making a selection of existing text should be quicker.
“Politics is the Mind-Killer” and “Well-Kept gardens die by pacifism” seem particularly relevant to online communities, for instance.
Yes, but I think they also apply well offline. People can discuss politics in person, too. The lesson of well-kept gardens is indirect: some people are net loss, and if you don’t filter them out of your social network, your quality of life will go down.
Now I added some explanations to my list, so the message is like this:
there is such thing as a truth/territory, and it has consequences in real life
to know = to make good predictions
it’s not about speaking mysteriously or using the right keywords, but about understanding the details
protect your values, don’t use your intelligence to defeat yourself
don’t let your emotions and biases make you stupid, but also don’t try to reverse stupidity
a rational community is a great idea, but it requires specific skills
here is how to use rationality to improve your everyday life
What is your intended audience, and what is the intended effect of reading these sequences? “Politics is the Mind-Killer” and “Well-Kept gardens die by pacifism” seem particularly relevant to online communities, for instance.
It was intended for new people on LW, who should be introduced to our “community values” (even without reading the whole Sequences). Also for smart people outside LW, who are curious what is LW about; and might decide to join later.
In both cases, the goal is make clear what LW (and x-rationality) is, and what it is not, in a short amount of text. Perhaps writing a new text would be better, but making a selection of existing text should be quicker.
Yes, but I think they also apply well offline. People can discuss politics in person, too. The lesson of well-kept gardens is indirect: some people are net loss, and if you don’t filter them out of your social network, your quality of life will go down.
Now I added some explanations to my list, so the message is like this:
there is such thing as a truth/territory, and it has consequences in real life
to know = to make good predictions
it’s not about speaking mysteriously or using the right keywords, but about understanding the details
protect your values, don’t use your intelligence to defeat yourself
don’t let your emotions and biases make you stupid, but also don’t try to reverse stupidity
a rational community is a great idea, but it requires specific skills
here is how to use rationality to improve your everyday life