Yes, it’s true that weirdness is a cost, though it’s also less interesting than Peter’s analogy.
If I try to run with a slightly more balanced version of Peter’s line, I say that everyone has a weirdness budget.
If you lead a major organisation, you want to keep that budget in surplus.
If you’re a non-public-facing researcher, then going over your weirdness budget is okay, if your allies can pay it off later by clarifying and softening your arguments. On a plausible narrative, Nick Bostrom and Martin Rees have similarly increased the appeal of Eliezer Yudkowsky’s arguments by throwing the weight of their academic prestige behind them.
Yes, it’s true that weirdness is a cost, though it’s also less interesting than Peter’s analogy.
If I try to run with a slightly more balanced version of Peter’s line, I say that everyone has a weirdness budget.
If you lead a major organisation, you want to keep that budget in surplus.
If you’re a non-public-facing researcher, then going over your weirdness budget is okay, if your allies can pay it off later by clarifying and softening your arguments. On a plausible narrative, Nick Bostrom and Martin Rees have similarly increased the appeal of Eliezer Yudkowsky’s arguments by throwing the weight of their academic prestige behind them.