One of the things that I found most useful when I came across OvercomingBias was the frequent linking though most of the posts. In fact, in the beginning I spent a couple of hours on each new post, clicking through the links and absorbing the required background knowledge.
Especially now that posting has become somewhat more eclectic, I can see the value of providing a reference to some of the key topics that we assume for so much of our discussions.
I would agree that heavy linking to background material is extremely helpful, but perhaps it would also be good to have a “Welcome to Rationality” page with a basic primer not just on what the site is for, but where you should start post-wise. Directing to the Most Frequently Useful Things and the Most Important Thing would be a good start, I would think.
A link for each major claim or background topic would be much appreciated. Sometimes I wonder if there shouldn’t be an original post layer, also containing the comments, and a wiki-ish layer, that could provide more links and notations. That way, an entrant could dig deeper, and regulars could participate in bridging those gaps, but could also continue in the original post layer without the wiki-ish clutter.
Learning through participation is a problem when a post generates 30+ comments, some of which are asking for “beginner” clarifications of known-by-regulars concepts. I think it’s better to include the beginners in grappling with the concepts and attempting to build the course for themselves and others. Isn’t it a bit odd that so many learn by following their interest, filling-in gaps as needed, and yet later on those very same people will attempt to teach others using a more linear method?
Looking back on something I know, I see the map of knowledge, and think “Ah, I might have been better off had I learned these foundational basics first.” The click-and-pursue nature of the web seems stacked against that method, and really, would have I been better off? Maybe I wouldn’t have pursued as much as I did if I couldn’t choose my own path.
If a wiki-ish layer is too crazy, maybe fundamental concepts should be more present in the tags, or be a separate little part? Related links and fundamental concepts relating to the post could be voted up or down. I could vote up a “hindsight bias” tag while downvoting a smartass “jedi” tag, and propose or vote up a link to another post that explored something (say, hindsight bias) in more detail.
One of the things that I found most useful when I came across OvercomingBias was the frequent linking though most of the posts. In fact, in the beginning I spent a couple of hours on each new post, clicking through the links and absorbing the required background knowledge.
Especially now that posting has become somewhat more eclectic, I can see the value of providing a reference to some of the key topics that we assume for so much of our discussions.
In the mean time, some may find this list of Eleizer’s OB posts useful. The dependency graphs there are handy too.
I would agree that heavy linking to background material is extremely helpful, but perhaps it would also be good to have a “Welcome to Rationality” page with a basic primer not just on what the site is for, but where you should start post-wise. Directing to the Most Frequently Useful Things and the Most Important Thing would be a good start, I would think.
Absolutely, linking really improves the resource.
A link for each major claim or background topic would be much appreciated. Sometimes I wonder if there shouldn’t be an original post layer, also containing the comments, and a wiki-ish layer, that could provide more links and notations. That way, an entrant could dig deeper, and regulars could participate in bridging those gaps, but could also continue in the original post layer without the wiki-ish clutter.
Learning through participation is a problem when a post generates 30+ comments, some of which are asking for “beginner” clarifications of known-by-regulars concepts. I think it’s better to include the beginners in grappling with the concepts and attempting to build the course for themselves and others. Isn’t it a bit odd that so many learn by following their interest, filling-in gaps as needed, and yet later on those very same people will attempt to teach others using a more linear method?
Looking back on something I know, I see the map of knowledge, and think “Ah, I might have been better off had I learned these foundational basics first.” The click-and-pursue nature of the web seems stacked against that method, and really, would have I been better off? Maybe I wouldn’t have pursued as much as I did if I couldn’t choose my own path.
If a wiki-ish layer is too crazy, maybe fundamental concepts should be more present in the tags, or be a separate little part? Related links and fundamental concepts relating to the post could be voted up or down. I could vote up a “hindsight bias” tag while downvoting a smartass “jedi” tag, and propose or vote up a link to another post that explored something (say, hindsight bias) in more detail.
Rereading some of those old posts it’s fascinating to see how much Eliezer’s writing has sharpened from then to now!