shit. :( i was hoping this article would tell me how i could be wrong in calling some of my friends susceptible to “groupthink”, but all it’s done is make it seem even moreso. not that the group is overtly conformist, but when you do something different, it feels like you stick out like a sore thumb.
really really good article. thank you for sharing it. i learned a lot. :)
I’ve got to warn you: this community holds comments to a higher standard than you might be used to. I suggest you take a look at some of the other comments to get an idea of what is expected.
I’m not blaming you for this because there isn’t another option but linking new users to the entirety of the sequences is, like, the most ridiculous habit we have here. Imagine you’ve never been here. You sign up because you read something clever someone wrote about groupthink. Then someone suggests you check out a list of some 600+ blog posts covering a tremendous variety of seemingly unrelated topics which the user may already know more about than Eliezer or lack even the basic background knowledge necessary for comprehension. I also doubt that the sequences are even the 600 whatever best/most important/most helpful introduction to what is going on here. Sure, some new users will be enthralled by the Sequences or parts of them but I have trouble imagining a worse gateway than that giant list with subsection upon subsection.
It’s made worse because the first major topic in the sequences is Bayesian probability. It’s important, sure, but most people find it really boring. I don’t have a better alternative reading order though, I wouldn’t recommend my mishmashed and nearly random flow through the sequences to others. I’m hoping that Eliezer isn’t planning on editing his rationality book entirely by himself and that a professional editor can turn it into something with more intuitive readability and flow that could serve as a better introduction to this site than the well intentioned advice of “read the sequences.”
For now, at least for people that like sci-fi, I think “go read Three Worlds Collide” is better advice than “go read the sequences”.
I thought panda’s comment deserved positive karma. Nothing wrong with expressing sincere appreciation for an article. Also, since panda’s comment gave nothing to indicate that we should actively discourage them from participating here, we shouldn’t vote the comment into the negative because panda would probably interpret it as a sign for “go away”.
Thanks for that. :) Definitely wasn’t expecting it. I may have wandered in with the wrong idea. I found this site linked from someone’s blog, so I thought it was a plain old blog too, not a discussion community.
Sorry—my comment didn’t add much to the discussion at all! But thanks for being helpful, everyone. After checking out your links, AngryParsley, this place is a bit too clever for me! Fascinating stuff, but I probably can’t contribute. But I’ve recommended it to my more clever friends irl, who’ll probably join in your sequences at some point.
shit. :( i was hoping this article would tell me how i could be wrong in calling some of my friends susceptible to “groupthink”, but all it’s done is make it seem even moreso. not that the group is overtly conformist, but when you do something different, it feels like you stick out like a sore thumb.
really really good article. thank you for sharing it. i learned a lot. :)
I hope that we don’t scare you off too soon, because there are lots of other good things to read on this site. http://lesswrong.com/lw/qk/that_alien_message/ is probably my favorite single post.
I think that the best or at least easiest to read introduction to the values of this site is Eliezer’s novella length work of fiction, Three Worlds Collide. http://lesswrong.com/lw/y4/three_worlds_collide_08/
I’ve got to warn you: this community holds comments to a higher standard than you might be used to. I suggest you take a look at some of the other comments to get an idea of what is expected.
With that out of the way, welcome to Less Wrong. I hope you like it here. Since you’re new, you probably want to check out the sequences and the about page.
Edit: By “check out” I meant “click on titles you find interesting,” not “read all of these.”
I’m not blaming you for this because there isn’t another option but linking new users to the entirety of the sequences is, like, the most ridiculous habit we have here. Imagine you’ve never been here. You sign up because you read something clever someone wrote about groupthink. Then someone suggests you check out a list of some 600+ blog posts covering a tremendous variety of seemingly unrelated topics which the user may already know more about than Eliezer or lack even the basic background knowledge necessary for comprehension. I also doubt that the sequences are even the 600 whatever best/most important/most helpful introduction to what is going on here. Sure, some new users will be enthralled by the Sequences or parts of them but I have trouble imagining a worse gateway than that giant list with subsection upon subsection.
It’s made worse because the first major topic in the sequences is Bayesian probability. It’s important, sure, but most people find it really boring. I don’t have a better alternative reading order though, I wouldn’t recommend my mishmashed and nearly random flow through the sequences to others. I’m hoping that Eliezer isn’t planning on editing his rationality book entirely by himself and that a professional editor can turn it into something with more intuitive readability and flow that could serve as a better introduction to this site than the well intentioned advice of “read the sequences.”
For now, at least for people that like sci-fi, I think “go read Three Worlds Collide” is better advice than “go read the sequences”.
I thought panda’s comment deserved positive karma. Nothing wrong with expressing sincere appreciation for an article. Also, since panda’s comment gave nothing to indicate that we should actively discourage them from participating here, we shouldn’t vote the comment into the negative because panda would probably interpret it as a sign for “go away”.
I hate to be the resident spelling/grammar Nazi, but I’ve commented on this before.
Thanks for that. :) Definitely wasn’t expecting it. I may have wandered in with the wrong idea. I found this site linked from someone’s blog, so I thought it was a plain old blog too, not a discussion community.
Sorry—my comment didn’t add much to the discussion at all! But thanks for being helpful, everyone. After checking out your links, AngryParsley, this place is a bit too clever for me! Fascinating stuff, but I probably can’t contribute. But I’ve recommended it to my more clever friends irl, who’ll probably join in your sequences at some point.
Sorry again, guys! As you were. :)