Yeah, I’m not sure that people prioritizing the Forum over journal articles is a majority view, but it is definitely something that happens, and there are currents in EA that encourage this sort of thinking.
I’m not saying we should not be somewhat skeptical of journal articles. There are huge problems in the peer-review world. But forum/blogs posts, what your friends say, are not more reliable. And it is concerning that some elements of EA culture encourage you to think that they are.
Evidence for my claim, based on replies to some of Ineffective Altruism’s tweets (who makes a similar critique).
(If it is inappropriate for me to link to people’s Twitter replies in a critical way, let me know. I feel a little uncomfortable doing this, because my point is not to name and shame any particular person. But I’m doing it because it seems worth pushing back against the claim that “this doesn’t happen here.” I do not want to post a name-blurred screenshot because I think all replies in the thread are valuable information, not just the replies I share, so I want to enable people to click through.)
Yeah, I’m not sure that people prioritizing the Forum over journal articles is a majority view, but it is definitely something that happens, and there are currents in EA that encourage this sort of thinking.
I’m not saying we should not be somewhat skeptical of journal articles. There are huge problems in the peer-review world. But forum/blogs posts, what your friends say, are not more reliable. And it is concerning that some elements of EA culture encourage you to think that they are.
Evidence for my claim, based on replies to some of Ineffective Altruism’s tweets (who makes a similar critique).
1: https://twitter.com/IneffectiveAlt4/status/1630853478053560321?s=20 Look at replies in this thread
2: https://twitter.com/NathanpmYoung/status/1630637375205576704?s=20 Look at all the various replies in this thread
(If it is inappropriate for me to link to people’s Twitter replies in a critical way, let me know. I feel a little uncomfortable doing this, because my point is not to name and shame any particular person. But I’m doing it because it seems worth pushing back against the claim that “this doesn’t happen here.” I do not want to post a name-blurred screenshot because I think all replies in the thread are valuable information, not just the replies I share, so I want to enable people to click through.)