I agree that, basically by definition, higher talent means higher returns on learning. My claim was not that talent is unimportant, but roughly that the answer to “Why don’t we have anyone in the community who can do X?” more often is “Because no-one has spent enough effort practicing X.” than it is “Because there is no EA who is sufficiently talented that they could do X well given an optimal environment, training etc.”.
(More generally, I agree that the OP could do a better job at framing the debate, setting out the key considerations and alternative views etc. I hope to write an improved version in the next few months.)
I agree that, basically by definition, higher talent means higher returns on learning. My claim was not that talent is unimportant, but roughly that the answer to “Why don’t we have anyone in the community who can do X?” more often is “Because no-one has spent enough effort practicing X.” than it is “Because there is no EA who is sufficiently talented that they could do X well given an optimal environment, training etc.”.
(More generally, I agree that the OP could do a better job at framing the debate, setting out the key considerations and alternative views etc. I hope to write an improved version in the next few months.)