My take is that LessWrong is best understood as a mix of individual voices, each with their own style and concerns. The approach I’d recommend is to select one writer whose voice you find compelling, and spend some time digesting their ideas. A common refrain is “read the sequences,” but that’s not where I started. I like John Wentworth’s writing.
Alternatively, you might find yourself interested in a particular topic. LessWrong’s tags can help you both find an interesting topic and locate relevant posts, though it’s not super fine grained or comprehensive.
One of the key sources of value on LessWrong is that it provides a common language for some complex ideas, presented in a relatively fun and accessible format. The combination of all those ideas can elevate thinking, although it’s no panacaea. My intuition is that it’s best to slowly follow your curiosity over a period of a few years, rather than trying to digest the whole thing all at once, or pick a couple highlights.
Any particular Wentworth posts that stand out to you? I’d like to include some in the LCLWBC (full credit to you for the name!), but I am not too familiar.
In general, the review is a great resource for navigating more recent LW content. Although old posts are a community touchstone, the review includes posts that reflect the live interests of community members that have also been extensively vetted not only for being exciting, but for maintaining their value a year later.
My take is that LessWrong is best understood as a mix of individual voices, each with their own style and concerns. The approach I’d recommend is to select one writer whose voice you find compelling, and spend some time digesting their ideas. A common refrain is “read the sequences,” but that’s not where I started. I like John Wentworth’s writing.
Alternatively, you might find yourself interested in a particular topic. LessWrong’s tags can help you both find an interesting topic and locate relevant posts, though it’s not super fine grained or comprehensive.
One of the key sources of value on LessWrong is that it provides a common language for some complex ideas, presented in a relatively fun and accessible format. The combination of all those ideas can elevate thinking, although it’s no panacaea. My intuition is that it’s best to slowly follow your curiosity over a period of a few years, rather than trying to digest the whole thing all at once, or pick a couple highlights.
Any particular Wentworth posts that stand out to you? I’d like to include some in the LCLWBC (full credit to you for the name!), but I am not too familiar.
John had several posts highly ranked in the 2020 LessWrong review, and one in the 2019 LessWrong review, so there’s a community consensus that they’re good. There was also a 2018 LessWrong review, though John didn’t place there.
In general, the review is a great resource for navigating more recent LW content. Although old posts are a community touchstone, the review includes posts that reflect the live interests of community members that have also been extensively vetted not only for being exciting, but for maintaining their value a year later.
Thank you!