Unfounded rumors about Leverage were common in the EA community when I was involved, and it’s disappointing that they continue to be perpetuated.
Most of the rumors about Leverage that I heard were along the lines of what Zoe later described (which is also largely consistent with other accounts described here and here). So I wouldn’t call those rumors “unfounded” at all. In this case at least, where there was smoke there turned out to be a fire.
Other rumors I heard were quite consistent with Leverage’s own description (pretty culty in my opinion) of why it terminated an eight year exploratory psychology program:
As our researchers sensitized themselves further, and accessed more and more of what seemed to be unconscious content, several negative effects occurred. Some of the psychological content was itself distressing, there appeared to be psychogenic effects, with individuals negatively affecting each other unintentionally through what appeared to be non-verbal communication, and conflict within the group escalated. After attempting to resolve the problems and making insufficient headway, we shut down the psychology research program and began the process of re-organizing the institute.
Re:
If you’d like to learn more about what Leverage was like, a bunch of information has come out that allows for a more nuanced and accurate picture. Two of the best, in my view, are Cathleen’s post and our Inquiry Report. Also, if you’re interested in what we work on today, feel free to visit our website.
I haven’t read Cathleen’s post, as it apparently takes several hours to read. I skimmed the Inquiry Report, enough to learn that has methodological biases that render it largely useless in my opinion (“Although we reached out to everyone from Leverage 1.0, not everyone chose to speak to us, including those who may have had the worst experiences.”)
I urge anyone who would “like to learn more about what Leverage was like” to read Zoe’s account and the other accounts I link to at the start of this comment instead of or in addition to the material Kerry suggests.
Most of the rumors about Leverage that I heard were along the lines of what Zoe later described (which is also largely consistent with other accounts described here and here). So I wouldn’t call those rumors “unfounded” at all. In this case at least, where there was smoke there turned out to be a fire.
Other rumors I heard were quite consistent with Leverage’s own description (pretty culty in my opinion) of why it terminated an eight year exploratory psychology program:
Re:
I haven’t read Cathleen’s post, as it apparently takes several hours to read. I skimmed the Inquiry Report, enough to learn that has methodological biases that render it largely useless in my opinion (“Although we reached out to everyone from Leverage 1.0, not everyone chose to speak to us, including those who may have had the worst experiences.”)
I urge anyone who would “like to learn more about what Leverage was like” to read Zoe’s account and the other accounts I link to at the start of this comment instead of or in addition to the material Kerry suggests.