“The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity”
I think the exceptionally truth-seeking, analytical, and quantitative nature of EA is virtuous, but those virtues too easily translate into a culture of timidness if you don’t consciously promote boldness.
Conceptually, Julia Galef talks about pairing social confidence with with epistemic humility in the Scout Mindset. It doesn’t come naturally, but it is possible and valuable when done well.
Right now I think Nicholas Decker is a great embodiment of this ethos. He says what he thinks without fear or social hesitation. He’s not always right and he flagrantly runs afoul of what’s considered socially acceptable or what a PR consultant would tell him to do, but there’s no mistaking his good-natured-ness and self-assurance that he’s on the right side of history, because generally *he is.* He doesn’t make the perfect the enemy of the good or excessively play it safe to avoid criticism.
A “bring on the haters” attitude is in fact more welcoming and trust-inducing than words carefully crafted to minimize criticism because it defeats the concern that you’re hiding something. And come on friends, the stuff you’re “hiding” in EA’s case – veganism, shrimp, future generations, etc. – is nothing to be ashamed of. And when you soft roll it, you’re endorsing the social sanction on these things as weird. Fuck that. Hit back. With grace. And pride. Fire the PR consultant in your head.
I keep coming back to Yeats on this topic:
“The best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity”
I think the exceptionally truth-seeking, analytical, and quantitative nature of EA is virtuous, but those virtues too easily translate into a culture of timidness if you don’t consciously promote boldness.
Conceptually, Julia Galef talks about pairing social confidence with with epistemic humility in the Scout Mindset. It doesn’t come naturally, but it is possible and valuable when done well.
Right now I think Nicholas Decker is a great embodiment of this ethos. He says what he thinks without fear or social hesitation. He’s not always right and he flagrantly runs afoul of what’s considered socially acceptable or what a PR consultant would tell him to do, but there’s no mistaking his good-natured-ness and self-assurance that he’s on the right side of history, because generally *he is.* He doesn’t make the perfect the enemy of the good or excessively play it safe to avoid criticism.
A “bring on the haters” attitude is in fact more welcoming and trust-inducing than words carefully crafted to minimize criticism because it defeats the concern that you’re hiding something. And come on friends, the stuff you’re “hiding” in EA’s case – veganism, shrimp, future generations, etc. – is nothing to be ashamed of. And when you soft roll it, you’re endorsing the social sanction on these things as weird. Fuck that. Hit back. With grace. And pride. Fire the PR consultant in your head.