I wonder what you would get if you offered a cash prize to whoever wrote the “best” criticism of EA, according some criteria such as the opinion of a panel of specific EAs, or online voting on a forum. Obviously, this has a large potential for selection effects, but it might produce something interesting (either in the winner, or in other submissions that don’t get selected because they are too good).
I think one of my concerns with this would be the consistency and commitment effect created by incentivising a criticism, leading to someone seeing herself as an EA critic, or opposed to these ideas. Similar to companies having rewards for customers writing why it’s their favourite company or product in the world. See also the American prisoners of war of China in the Korean war (I think), having small incentives to write criticisms of America or Capitalism.
If it were being seriously considered, it’d be good to see some more done to work out if this would be a real consequence.
I wonder what you would get if you offered a cash prize to whoever wrote the “best” criticism of EA, according some criteria such as the opinion of a panel of specific EAs, or online voting on a forum. Obviously, this has a large potential for selection effects, but it might produce something interesting (either in the winner, or in other submissions that don’t get selected because they are too good).
Might be better to put up a cash prize for a suggested improvement rather than a critique then but maybe that’s me being weak-spirited.
I think one of my concerns with this would be the consistency and commitment effect created by incentivising a criticism, leading to someone seeing herself as an EA critic, or opposed to these ideas. Similar to companies having rewards for customers writing why it’s their favourite company or product in the world. See also the American prisoners of war of China in the Korean war (I think), having small incentives to write criticisms of America or Capitalism. If it were being seriously considered, it’d be good to see some more done to work out if this would be a real consequence.
Source: Influence, Cialdini.