Hi I’m curious as to what you mean by “weaker”—does this mean it teaches fewer concepts or it teaches them less well, or maybe that the concepts don’t stick as well in reader’s minds? Would the more widespread appeal of fiction be able to account for this (say, lower probability of retention complemented by higher numbers of readers)?
I definitely think the more broad appeal of fiction does make it worthwhile as an outreach effort (though it needs to be explicitly educational. Mother of Learning, for all its good writing, doesn’t teach how to think better.). The concepts touched in the fictional works (that I remember) were all very low-inferential distance from the common culture, so they were confined to beginner concepts without an in-depth overview. For example, the Frozen fanfic by Wales touches on AI safety and effective altruism, and is fun and beautiful, but I did not learn anything from it.
As you say, fiction teaches less concepts and teaches them less well. I do think it might teach more memorably though.
Hi I’m curious as to what you mean by “weaker”—does this mean it teaches fewer concepts or it teaches them less well, or maybe that the concepts don’t stick as well in reader’s minds? Would the more widespread appeal of fiction be able to account for this (say, lower probability of retention complemented by higher numbers of readers)?
I definitely think the more broad appeal of fiction does make it worthwhile as an outreach effort (though it needs to be explicitly educational. Mother of Learning, for all its good writing, doesn’t teach how to think better.). The concepts touched in the fictional works (that I remember) were all very low-inferential distance from the common culture, so they were confined to beginner concepts without an in-depth overview. For example, the Frozen fanfic by Wales touches on AI safety and effective altruism, and is fun and beautiful, but I did not learn anything from it.
As you say, fiction teaches less concepts and teaches them less well. I do think it might teach more memorably though.