I enjoyed it initially, but the enormous, self-righteous rant on the nature ‘confessors’ which are clearly a self insert of what the author clearly likes to see himself as really broke immersion. Really, it’s the same problem I have with everything the author has ever written.
The writing style’s still a lot better than your Harry Potter fanfic, which is still unreadable. Nice job on improving it, even if you had to throw your masturbatory fantasies in.
I enjoyed it initially, but the enormous, self-righteous rant on the nature ‘confessors’ which are clearly a self insert of what the author clearly likes to see himself as really broke immersion.
I’m curious as to how you think the confessor is intended a self-insert given the confessor’s horrible history. Am I misinterpreting what you’ve said?
The writing style’s still a lot better than your Harry Potter fanfic, which is still unreadable.
The writing style’s strike me as very similar. Are you sure you aren’t just seeing differences due to who it is aimed at? Also, is there a chance you can make more constructive criticism about what makes one unreadable and what the differences are?
Nice job on improving it, even if you had to throw your masturbatory fantasies in.
I’m not aware of any aspect of the story that obviously throws in Eliezer’s “masturbatory fantasies”—it might help to note that a story can have sex, even strange sex, and not have it because the author is writing about their own personal fetishes. Also note that this remark comes across as uncivil. Unfortunately, while Less Wrong is a community that prides itself on rationality, people (both on LW and elsewhere) often use civility as a proxy for rationality. I suspect this has contributed to your downvotes.
Unfortunately, while Less Wrong is a community that prides itself on rationality, people (both on LW and elsewhere) often use civility as a proxy for rationality.
It sounds like you are equating a preference for civility with the inability to distinguish civility and rationality. Have I misunderstood you?
It seems to me that there is no need to apologize for the claimed fact that LW people appreciate both rationality and civility. And certainly no reason to suggest that we conflate the two.
I suppose that it might be worth mentioning that P(downvoting|perceived incivility) > P(downvoting|perceived civility) and that P(downvoting|perceived irrationality) > P(downvoting| perceived rationality). And hence, that the downvotes provide ambiguous evidence to Augustus regarding his perceived sins. But this inability to signal unambiguously should not be interpreted as an inability to distinguish—not even by a fan of BF Skinner.
FWIW, I initially took Augustus’s reference to “masturbatory fantasies” to be the fantasy of being in a ship captain’s position of respected authority and having possession of remarkable moral clarity. Only on rereading did I notice the alternative reading that involved tentacles. Perhaps I am naive, but I see that kind of comic relief as less revealing about an author’s own fetishes, and more revealing about his wish to seem hip to whatever subculture he is courting.
It sounds like you are equating a preference for civility with the inability to distinguish civility and rationality. Have I misunderstood you?
That’s a very good point. I don’t have any good evidence that the inability exists and the preference explanation does do a very good job explaining the data.
Also note that this remark comes across as uncivil. Unfortunately, while Less Wrong is a community that prides itself on rationality, people (both on LW and elsewhere) often use civility as a proxy for rationality.
Someone making ad hominem remarks has usually run out of legitimate criticisms. Civility seems like a shorthand for letting an argument stand on its merits and not getting personal, which is (epistemically) rational behavior.
The writing style’s still a lot better than your Harry Potter fanfic,
Well, I have to agree with this part of your comment (and laugh at the rest). I like HPatMoR a lot, but there is something about the writing style that disturbs me a bit, even after 68 chapters, although unlike you it’s not a problem I have with anything else Eliezer has ever written, and I’ve read pretty much everything he’s written.
I enjoyed it initially, but the enormous, self-righteous rant on the nature ‘confessors’ which are clearly a self insert of what the author clearly likes to see himself as really broke immersion. Really, it’s the same problem I have with everything the author has ever written.
The writing style’s still a lot better than your Harry Potter fanfic, which is still unreadable. Nice job on improving it, even if you had to throw your masturbatory fantasies in.
I’m curious as to how you think the confessor is intended a self-insert given the confessor’s horrible history. Am I misinterpreting what you’ve said?
The writing style’s strike me as very similar. Are you sure you aren’t just seeing differences due to who it is aimed at? Also, is there a chance you can make more constructive criticism about what makes one unreadable and what the differences are?
I’m not aware of any aspect of the story that obviously throws in Eliezer’s “masturbatory fantasies”—it might help to note that a story can have sex, even strange sex, and not have it because the author is writing about their own personal fetishes. Also note that this remark comes across as uncivil. Unfortunately, while Less Wrong is a community that prides itself on rationality, people (both on LW and elsewhere) often use civility as a proxy for rationality. I suspect this has contributed to your downvotes.
It sounds like you are equating a preference for civility with the inability to distinguish civility and rationality. Have I misunderstood you?
It seems to me that there is no need to apologize for the claimed fact that LW people appreciate both rationality and civility. And certainly no reason to suggest that we conflate the two.
I suppose that it might be worth mentioning that P(downvoting|perceived incivility) > P(downvoting|perceived civility) and that P(downvoting|perceived irrationality) > P(downvoting| perceived rationality). And hence, that the downvotes provide ambiguous evidence to Augustus regarding his perceived sins. But this inability to signal unambiguously should not be interpreted as an inability to distinguish—not even by a fan of BF Skinner.
FWIW, I initially took Augustus’s reference to “masturbatory fantasies” to be the fantasy of being in a ship captain’s position of respected authority and having possession of remarkable moral clarity. Only on rereading did I notice the alternative reading that involved tentacles. Perhaps I am naive, but I see that kind of comic relief as less revealing about an author’s own fetishes, and more revealing about his wish to seem hip to whatever subculture he is courting.
That’s a very good point. I don’t have any good evidence that the inability exists and the preference explanation does do a very good job explaining the data.
FWIW this is also the interpretation I found evident.
I downvote uncivil responses because they activate arguments-as-soldiers mode.
Someone making ad hominem remarks has usually run out of legitimate criticisms. Civility seems like a shorthand for letting an argument stand on its merits and not getting personal, which is (epistemically) rational behavior.
I recommend remedial classes.
Well, I have to agree with this part of your comment (and laugh at the rest). I like HPatMoR a lot, but there is something about the writing style that disturbs me a bit, even after 68 chapters, although unlike you it’s not a problem I have with anything else Eliezer has ever written, and I’ve read pretty much everything he’s written.