We talk about strengthening the community, etc. But what does LW actually do? What do LWers get out of it? What about value Vs. time spent with LW? Ex, if you got here in 2011, was most of the value concentrated in 2011? Has it trickled out over time?
Do we accomplish things? Are we some kinda networking platform for pockets of smart people spread out across the globe? Do we contribute to the world in any way other than encouraging people to donate money responsibly?
This is not a new question. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder: what are we getting out of LW? Obviously something, since I’m still here. But can we quantify it?
Do we accomplish things? Are we some kinda networking platform for pockets of smart people spread out across the globe? Do we contribute to the world in any way other than encouraging people to donate money responsibly?
Different people may get different things. For example, I am very picky about people I spend my time with (always was, even before I found LW), and organizing local meetups helped me meet a few interesting people. As a side effect of LW, I stopped debating politics, which saves a lot of time and negative emotions; now I can spend the time on getting some free internet education, which so far didn’t bring me further benefits, but at least feels better. But I imagine other people can get different things, and what I wrote here may be irrelevant for them.
Replacing my original comment with this question:
What has Lesswrong done for you?
We talk about strengthening the community, etc. But what does LW actually do? What do LWers get out of it? What about value Vs. time spent with LW? Ex, if you got here in 2011, was most of the value concentrated in 2011? Has it trickled out over time?
Do we accomplish things? Are we some kinda networking platform for pockets of smart people spread out across the globe? Do we contribute to the world in any way other than encouraging people to donate money responsibly?
This is not a new question. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder: what are we getting out of LW? Obviously something, since I’m still here. But can we quantify it?
You say that like it isn’t a big contribution.
Have you read the monthly bragging threads?
Different people may get different things. For example, I am very picky about people I spend my time with (always was, even before I found LW), and organizing local meetups helped me meet a few interesting people. As a side effect of LW, I stopped debating politics, which saves a lot of time and negative emotions; now I can spend the time on getting some free internet education, which so far didn’t bring me further benefits, but at least feels better. But I imagine other people can get different things, and what I wrote here may be irrelevant for them.
I get a feeling that I am smart and special. I also get interesting discussions/ideas. I also get distracted for hours.