I think you consistently make yourself seem like a douchebag in your writing, and that’s why your articles get a lot of downvotes. Maybe it’s not fair (though I did downvote you just for writing like a douchebag, cuz no one ever said life was fair), but I’m pretty confident that’s how other people are perceiving you, even if subconsciously. Maybe you’re not actually a douchebag, I have no idea. I just think you should understand why people are downvoting you, even if you don’t change your writing style at all. Like I’m completely aware that people are downvoting me for being an asshole, so I give that some weight in my writing. But I’m going to be an asshole right now.
Your writing contains:
pompous verbosity that makes every article overly long
narcissism and humblebragging, e.g. name-dropping, talking about a prize you won as a teenager
apparently unironic declarations of your love for TED talks and the Bay Area. Like, you might as well talk about how Malcolm Gladwell changed your life. Or talk about how you’re “such a Carrie”.
talking about yourself in the third person. Enough said.
I think there’s a decent, if slightly unoriginal article under here. But you’re going to need some brutal editing to get there.
I like your sincerity. The verbosity is something I actually like and quite praised in the human sciences I was raised in, I don’t aim for the condensed information writing style. The nascissism I dislike and tried to fix before, but it’s hard, it’s a mix of a rigid personality trait with a discomfort from having been in the EA movement since long before it was an actual thing, having spent many years giving time resources and attention, and seeing new EAs who don’t have knowledge or competence being rewarded (especially financially) by EA organizations that clearly don’t deserve it. It also bugs me that people don’t distinguish the much higher value of EAs who are not taking money from the EA sphere from those who have a salary, and to some extent are just part of the economic engine, like anyone with a normal NGO job that is just instantiating the economy.
I don’t actually see any problem with people talking about what changed their lives or whether they are more like Ross than like Chandler. I usually like hearing about transformative experiences of others because it enlarges my possibility scope. Don’t you?
This particular text was written for myself, but I think the editing tips also hold for the ones I write for others, so thanks! And yes, you do write like asshole sometimes on facebook. But so what, if that is your thing, good for you, life isn’t fair.
I think you consistently make yourself seem like a douchebag in your writing, and that’s why your articles get a lot of downvotes. Maybe it’s not fair (though I did downvote you just for writing like a douchebag, cuz no one ever said life was fair), but I’m pretty confident that’s how other people are perceiving you, even if subconsciously. Maybe you’re not actually a douchebag, I have no idea. I just think you should understand why people are downvoting you, even if you don’t change your writing style at all. Like I’m completely aware that people are downvoting me for being an asshole, so I give that some weight in my writing. But I’m going to be an asshole right now.
Your writing contains:
pompous verbosity that makes every article overly long
narcissism and humblebragging, e.g. name-dropping, talking about a prize you won as a teenager
apparently unironic declarations of your love for TED talks and the Bay Area. Like, you might as well talk about how Malcolm Gladwell changed your life. Or talk about how you’re “such a Carrie”.
talking about yourself in the third person. Enough said.
I think there’s a decent, if slightly unoriginal article under here. But you’re going to need some brutal editing to get there.
That sounds about right :)
I like your sincerity. The verbosity is something I actually like and quite praised in the human sciences I was raised in, I don’t aim for the condensed information writing style. The nascissism I dislike and tried to fix before, but it’s hard, it’s a mix of a rigid personality trait with a discomfort from having been in the EA movement since long before it was an actual thing, having spent many years giving time resources and attention, and seeing new EAs who don’t have knowledge or competence being rewarded (especially financially) by EA organizations that clearly don’t deserve it. It also bugs me that people don’t distinguish the much higher value of EAs who are not taking money from the EA sphere from those who have a salary, and to some extent are just part of the economic engine, like anyone with a normal NGO job that is just instantiating the economy.
I don’t actually see any problem with people talking about what changed their lives or whether they are more like Ross than like Chandler. I usually like hearing about transformative experiences of others because it enlarges my possibility scope. Don’t you?
This particular text was written for myself, but I think the editing tips also hold for the ones I write for others, so thanks! And yes, you do write like asshole sometimes on facebook. But so what, if that is your thing, good for you, life isn’t fair.