I am not asking because I want to know. I was asking because I wanted you to think about those sequences,and what they are actually saying , and how clear they are. Which you didn’t.
Why would it matter what an individual commenter says about the clarity of the Sequences? I think a better measure would be what a large number of readers think about how clear they are. We could do a poll but I think there is already a measure: The votes. But these don’t measure clarity. More something like how useful people found them. And maybe that is a better measure? Another metric would be the increase in the number of readers while the Sequences were published. By that measure, esp. given the niche subject, they seem to be of excellent quality.
But just to check I read one high (130) and one low-vote (21) post from the Metaethics sequence and I think they are clear and readable.
I don’t think these are mutually exclusive? The Sequences are long and some of the posts were better than others. Also, what is considered “clear” can depend on one’s background. All authors have to make some assumptions about the audience’s knowledge. (E.g., at minimum, what language do they speak?) When Eliezer guessed wrong, or was read by those outside his intended audience, they might not be able to fill in the gaps and clarity suffers—for them, but not for everyone.
I am not asking because I want to know. I was asking because I wanted you to think about those sequences,and what they are actually saying , and how clear they are. Which you didn’t.
Why would it matter what an individual commenter says about the clarity of the Sequences? I think a better measure would be what a large number of readers think about how clear they are. We could do a poll but I think there is already a measure: The votes. But these don’t measure clarity. More something like how useful people found them. And maybe that is a better measure? Another metric would be the increase in the number of readers while the Sequences were published. By that measure, esp. given the niche subject, they seem to be of excellent quality.
But just to check I read one high (130) and one low-vote (21) post from the Metaethics sequence and I think they are clear and readable.
Yes, lots of people think the sequences are great. Lots of people also complain about EY’s lack of clarity. So something has to give.
The fact that it seems to be hugely difficult for even favourably inclined people to distill his arguments is evidence in favour of unclarity.
I don’t think these are mutually exclusive? The Sequences are long and some of the posts were better than others. Also, what is considered “clear” can depend on one’s background. All authors have to make some assumptions about the audience’s knowledge. (E.g., at minimum, what language do they speak?) When Eliezer guessed wrong, or was read by those outside his intended audience, they might not be able to fill in the gaps and clarity suffers—for them, but not for everyone.
I agree that it is evidence to that end.