100% agree that cultural health is very important, and that EA is under-investing in it. (The “we don’t want to just give money to our friends” point resonates, and other scrupulosity-related stuff is probably at play here as well.)
Individuals at social events will be trying to one-up each other with their cleverness. I’m sure I’ve contributed to this. I’ve noticed myself becoming jealous when I hear of others who are similar in some ways doing well, which really should make no sense at all.
Thank you for talking about this!
I’ve noticed similar patterns in my own mind, especially around how I engage with this Forum. (I’ve been stepping back from it more this year because I’ve noticed that a lot of my engagement wasn’t coming from a loving place.)
These dynamics may not make any sense, but there are deep biological & psychological forces giving rise to them. [insert Robin Hanson’s “everything you do is signaling” rant here]
… I think in the anonymous surveys 80K did a while back a bunch of people complained that there was a lot of signaling going on and that status was a big deal.
Right. Last year concerns about status made a lot of heat on the Forum (1, 2, 3), but as far as I know nothing has really changed since then, perhaps other than more folks acknowledging that status is a thing.
Thanks!
100% agree that cultural health is very important, and that EA is under-investing in it. (The “we don’t want to just give money to our friends” point resonates, and other scrupulosity-related stuff is probably at play here as well.)
Thank you for talking about this!
I’ve noticed similar patterns in my own mind, especially around how I engage with this Forum. (I’ve been stepping back from it more this year because I’ve noticed that a lot of my engagement wasn’t coming from a loving place.)
These dynamics may not make any sense, but there are deep biological & psychological forces giving rise to them. [insert Robin Hanson’s “everything you do is signaling” rant here]
Right. Last year concerns about status made a lot of heat on the Forum (1, 2, 3), but as far as I know nothing has really changed since then, perhaps other than more folks acknowledging that status is a thing.
(Status seems closely related to scrupulosity & to EA being vetting-constrained; I haven’t unpacked this yet.)