Of course, you have the right to do whatever you want. But, if someone new to a group of rationalists asks a question with a clear expectation for a response, and gets philosophising as an answer, don’t be surprised if people get a perhaps unflattering view of rationalists.
My parents always told me “we only compare ourselves to the best”. I am only making these criticisms because rationalists self-define as, well, rational. And to be, rationality also has to do with achieving something. Pedantry, sophistry &c are unwelcome distractions.
I actually agree. I think one issue is that the kind of mind that is attraction to “rationality” as a topic also tends to be highly sensitive to perceived errors, and to be fond of taking things to the meta-level. These combine to lead to threads where nobody talks about the object-level questions. I frankly don’t even try to bring up object-level problems on Less Wrong.
Of course, you have the right to do whatever you want. But, if someone new to a group of rationalists asks a question with a clear expectation for a response, and gets philosophising as an answer, don’t be surprised if people get a perhaps unflattering view of rationalists.
What websites are you using where pedantry, sophistry, tangents, and oblique criticism aren’t the default? Are you using the same Internet as me?
My parents always told me “we only compare ourselves to the best”. I am only making these criticisms because rationalists self-define as, well, rational. And to be, rationality also has to do with achieving something. Pedantry, sophistry &c are unwelcome distractions.
I actually agree. I think one issue is that the kind of mind that is attraction to “rationality” as a topic also tends to be highly sensitive to perceived errors, and to be fond of taking things to the meta-level. These combine to lead to threads where nobody talks about the object-level questions. I frankly don’t even try to bring up object-level problems on Less Wrong.