I don’t think people being “persuaded” by Torres is the primary concern — rather, I think Torres could make people feel vaguely icky or concerned about longtermism, even if they still basically “believe in it”, in a way that makes them less likely to get fully engaged / more likely to bounce off toward other EA topics. Even if those other topics are also very valuable, it seems good to have a reaction piece like this to counter the “ick” reactions and give people an easy way to see the full set of relevant arguments before they bounce.
I don’t think people being “persuaded” by Torres is the primary concern — rather, I think Torres could make people feel vaguely icky or concerned about longtermism, even if they still basically “believe in it”, in a way that makes them less likely to get fully engaged / more likely to bounce off toward other EA topics. Even if those other topics are also very valuable, it seems good to have a reaction piece like this to counter the “ick” reactions and give people an easy way to see the full set of relevant arguments before they bounce.