I’m curious how varying the “opener” will affect the responses. Here are a few off the top of my head:
Opener #1: “Hey, what would you think of someone who calls themselves a rationalist? I was interviewing this guy the other day, and I asked him what words he’d use to describe himself, and that was the first thing out of his mouth. I’ve never heard that response before, and don’t know what to think.”
Opener #2: “Hey, so, I met this guy the other day, and he was going on and on about how he was a huge rationalist. That’s not really something I’ve seen anyone do. What would you make of someone like that?”
Opener #3: “So, I have a friend who’s thinking about joining/starting a ‘Rationality Club.’ I don’t really know what to say about that, other than that it sounds a bit [pause] unique. What kind of people would you expect at a ‘Rationality club?’”
These are designed to do several things. First, by describing a specific incident, it puts them in near mode, and gets them to imagine what they’d actually think. Second, they have a livelier and more conversational phrasing, which should help in getting people to open up. Third, by distancing yourself from the label, it makes them free to not be polite to the word.
These are completely untested, though I might give them a try tonight.
In general I like this idea, although this feels a little weirder to me as a way to start a conversation with a random person I don’t know. And not just in a “people don’t normally talk like that” way, but a “people don’t normally talk like that and therefore this guy smells fishy to me.… why is he suddenly talking to me about this guy he was interviewing?”
I look way too young to be interviewing people, so I personally would not use that one; it would indeed “smell fishy,” and, seeing as I actually don’t interview people, I would not be able to do it naturally. Otherwise, it would be fairly normal to talk about interview candidates if they’re on your mind; just a few months ago, a professor called me as I walked by his office and started wondering aloud whether to hire a guy (though the professor was very much not a stranger).
On the other hand, it’s actually true that I hear people talking about joining a rationality club or being rationalists, so I could probably use the other two off fairly naturally.
I’d agree though with your overall concerns; these might work better as the first thing you say after “Hi, I’m Ray” (in a context where that’s appropriate) than as true openers. I’ve nonetheless definitely seen these kinds of lines work in starting conversations with random strangers.
I’m curious how varying the “opener” will affect the responses. Here are a few off the top of my head:
Opener #1: “Hey, what would you think of someone who calls themselves a rationalist? I was interviewing this guy the other day, and I asked him what words he’d use to describe himself, and that was the first thing out of his mouth. I’ve never heard that response before, and don’t know what to think.”
Opener #2: “Hey, so, I met this guy the other day, and he was going on and on about how he was a huge rationalist. That’s not really something I’ve seen anyone do. What would you make of someone like that?”
Opener #3: “So, I have a friend who’s thinking about joining/starting a ‘Rationality Club.’ I don’t really know what to say about that, other than that it sounds a bit [pause] unique. What kind of people would you expect at a ‘Rationality club?’”
These are designed to do several things. First, by describing a specific incident, it puts them in near mode, and gets them to imagine what they’d actually think. Second, they have a livelier and more conversational phrasing, which should help in getting people to open up. Third, by distancing yourself from the label, it makes them free to not be polite to the word.
These are completely untested, though I might give them a try tonight.
In general I like this idea, although this feels a little weirder to me as a way to start a conversation with a random person I don’t know. And not just in a “people don’t normally talk like that” way, but a “people don’t normally talk like that and therefore this guy smells fishy to me.… why is he suddenly talking to me about this guy he was interviewing?”
I look way too young to be interviewing people, so I personally would not use that one; it would indeed “smell fishy,” and, seeing as I actually don’t interview people, I would not be able to do it naturally. Otherwise, it would be fairly normal to talk about interview candidates if they’re on your mind; just a few months ago, a professor called me as I walked by his office and started wondering aloud whether to hire a guy (though the professor was very much not a stranger).
On the other hand, it’s actually true that I hear people talking about joining a rationality club or being rationalists, so I could probably use the other two off fairly naturally.
I’d agree though with your overall concerns; these might work better as the first thing you say after “Hi, I’m Ray” (in a context where that’s appropriate) than as true openers. I’ve nonetheless definitely seen these kinds of lines work in starting conversations with random strangers.