One of the broader points I’m advocating for is that the middle ground is far more stable and sizable than many in the community might think it is.
I think the ‘non-serious’ individual you speak of is somewhat of a straw man. If they are real, the risk of them polluting the quality of EA’s work is quite small IMO. It’s important to make a distinction between the archetype of a follower/fan (external comms) and a worker/creator (internal comms). A lot of EAs conflate internal and external communications.
This is a really cool topic. I wonder why there is tension. I haven’t been around long enough to see it in action, but I’m getting a better sense for it as I read similar posts. Do you think there’s a key cultural shift that would address the underlying issue? Do you think there’s any fear (or some other emotion/rationale) about avoiding this middle ground?
Yeah if you read the essay it spends a lot of time speaking to both of those questions
tldr
The fear is born from the very DNA of EA which has its roots in avoiding emotional irrationalities that lead to ineffective forms of altruism. The culture shift I want to see is a product of a) acknowledging and relinquishing this fear when it’s not based on reality b) understanding the value proposition of good communications
One of the broader points I’m advocating for is that the middle ground is far more stable and sizable than many in the community might think it is.
I think the ‘non-serious’ individual you speak of is somewhat of a straw man. If they are real, the risk of them polluting the quality of EA’s work is quite small IMO. It’s important to make a distinction between the archetype of a follower/fan (external comms) and a worker/creator (internal comms). A lot of EAs conflate internal and external communications.
This is a really cool topic. I wonder why there is tension. I haven’t been around long enough to see it in action, but I’m getting a better sense for it as I read similar posts. Do you think there’s a key cultural shift that would address the underlying issue? Do you think there’s any fear (or some other emotion/rationale) about avoiding this middle ground?
Yeah if you read the essay it spends a lot of time speaking to both of those questions
tldr
The fear is born from the very DNA of EA which has its roots in avoiding emotional irrationalities that lead to ineffective forms of altruism. The culture shift I want to see is a product of a) acknowledging and relinquishing this fear when it’s not based on reality b) understanding the value proposition of good communications