Kirsten—I think these are legitimate concerns, and it’s good to be aware that ‘incumbent EAs’ might—at least in principle—have certain vested interests in promoting and enforcing certain social norms that can be exclusionary.
Your examples—frugality, veganism, Bayesianism—seem relevant in some EA circles (but maybe not in others).
I think the more common (unwittingly) exclusionary tactics tend to be more verbal than lifesstyle-based—especially insofar as EA as a global movement is largely on online community (centered around EA Forum), even if local EA groups are also important. I can imagine that lifestyle-signaling (e.g. eating vegan, talking in Rationality-dialect) might matter more in the local EA groups and EA conferences. But in EA Forum, I think the most exclusionary tactics involve how we use English language in ways that can be alienating to people whose first language isn’t English, who aren’t familiar with Anglo-American idioms, euphemisms, and pop culture, and who aren’t familiar with certain sets of technical jargon (e.g. from Rationalism, moral philosophy, AI alignment research, etc).
However, I don’t think the ‘EA insiders’ or incumbents are using these verbal styles in an intentionally exclusive way (analogous to the way that big business lobbies for heavier regulatory burdens that smaller start-up companies can’t comply with). Rather, I think there’s in-group status signaling that leads to these verbal styles (e.g. showing off one’s knowledge of certain technical terms, or using Anglo-American idioms to signal cultural coolness and informality), plus, there’s a lack of awareness on the part of native English speakers that a lot of our writing can be baffling to people who learned English as a second language.
Kirsten—I think these are legitimate concerns, and it’s good to be aware that ‘incumbent EAs’ might—at least in principle—have certain vested interests in promoting and enforcing certain social norms that can be exclusionary.
Your examples—frugality, veganism, Bayesianism—seem relevant in some EA circles (but maybe not in others).
I think the more common (unwittingly) exclusionary tactics tend to be more verbal than lifesstyle-based—especially insofar as EA as a global movement is largely on online community (centered around EA Forum), even if local EA groups are also important. I can imagine that lifestyle-signaling (e.g. eating vegan, talking in Rationality-dialect) might matter more in the local EA groups and EA conferences. But in EA Forum, I think the most exclusionary tactics involve how we use English language in ways that can be alienating to people whose first language isn’t English, who aren’t familiar with Anglo-American idioms, euphemisms, and pop culture, and who aren’t familiar with certain sets of technical jargon (e.g. from Rationalism, moral philosophy, AI alignment research, etc).
However, I don’t think the ‘EA insiders’ or incumbents are using these verbal styles in an intentionally exclusive way (analogous to the way that big business lobbies for heavier regulatory burdens that smaller start-up companies can’t comply with). Rather, I think there’s in-group status signaling that leads to these verbal styles (e.g. showing off one’s knowledge of certain technical terms, or using Anglo-American idioms to signal cultural coolness and informality), plus, there’s a lack of awareness on the part of native English speakers that a lot of our writing can be baffling to people who learned English as a second language.