Impact Markets link: https://app.impactmarkets.io/profile/clfljvejd0012oppubuwne2k2
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Introducing Rational Animations
By “first three videos,” I meant the first three animated videos. Pardon. There are old videos I mean to keep because they are generally on topic and either sort of historic (epic conway’s game of life) or cute stuff from my adolescence, which was pretty good anyway. Not production-wise, but at least concept-wise. But most importantly most of my current public arrives from them.
Thanks for the link heads-up.
Err… the comments here and on LW seem neutral to positive. So why am I being downvoted so much? Is it the post or the channel? If it is the channel, I swear that better stuff is coming D: Maybe I should have just done a post after that stuff. Too bad I guess. I didn’t expect this reception.
A lateral way of thinking about Cause X: barely visible but potentially enormous categories of value
Thanks for this feedback. I did the actionable thing I could do and changed the titles of the first two animated videos.
I totally understand this take and the animator said the same thing (so upvoted for giving me another data point here).
Now let me vent my frustration:
The sad thing is that your comment has a decent chance of being correct. I think that, yes, at first glance minecraft videos may seem unprofessional. But man if you are correct that would be deeply deeply sad. Reality is: “redstone neuron in minecraft!” is utterly brilliant, even if I say so myself. It is a perceptron made with redstone. How cool is that? And probably one of the firsts, or the first, in the world. And I did that when I was 17. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, and one of the highest forms of self-expression. But NO it’s cringe because it’s in minecraft, right? And minecraft is for kids. Nevermind that it’s turing complete.
Also, I’m kind of horrified at the possibility that people look at a starting YouTube channel and say “hmmm this looks unprofessional I’m going to downvote”. YouTube channels shouldn’t necessarily look professional, they just need to be good. I could go the route of making everything as boring as possible and commit YT suicide.
End of venting.
All that said I AM updating towards “hmmm maybe I should use a less quirky aesthetic or completely remove the rationality/EA brand (even if talking about EA/rationality topics) if I want to take quirkier routes or maybe just do both”.
Thanks a lot, this looks useful. I’m joining.
This is all correct, but also notice that the most recent video among those that break the pattern of animated videos is 7 years old. When we’ll have accumulated a lot of animated videos those old videos will be relegated at the bottom and have approximately zero impact on how people view the channel, other than being old curiosities. Also, an interesting datapoint that contradicts your thesis (although I agree with you, I wanted to point that out): VSauce. Look at his older videos. And they are a lot more!
One thing that I could do is to simply hide the minecraft videos for a while, till the channel has more animated videos, so it can have a more consistent aesthetic early on, and then unhide them later. I don’t like this option but I will consider it (in part I dislike it because public from the old videos is saying “wow you hath returneth!”)
Thanks, edited both here an on LW. Interesting feedback about the arm, but I’m also considering removing the arm entirely.
An animated introduction to longtermism (feat. Robert Miles)
Thanks! Just updated the link :)
Updated the description with “Clarification: Toby Ord estimates that the chance of human extinction this century (and not in general) is around 1⁄6, which is 16.66...%”
Copy-pasted your text and included both links with an “and”. Also… any feedback on the video? This post’s performance seems a little disappointing to me, as always.
Edit: oh I just see now that you replied above
Thank you a lot for this feedback. I was perceiving that the main worry people here were having about Rational Animations was potential downsides, and that they were having this feeling mainly due to our artistic choices (because I was getting few upvotes, some downvotes and feedback that didn’t feel very “central” I figured that there was probably something about the whole thing that was putting off some people but that they weren’t able to put their finger on. Am I correct in this assessment?). I feel like I want to kind of update the direction of the channel because of this, but I need some time to reflect and maybe write a post to understand if what I’m thinking is what people here are also thinking.
This makes me think that I would definitely use more feedback. It makes me kind of sad that I could have added this point myself (together with precising the estimate by Toby Ord) and didn’t because of...? I don’t know exactly.
Edit: one easy thing I could do is to post scripts in advance here or on LW and request feedback (other than messaging people directly and waiting for their answers, although this is often slow and fatiguing).
Edit 2: Oh, and the Slack group. Surely more ideas will come to me, I’ll stop adding edits now.
Hey, thanks a lot for this comment. It did brighten my mood.
I think I’ll definitely want to send scripts to CEA’s press team, especially if they are heavily EA related like this one. Do you know how can I contact them? (I’m not sure I know what’s the CEA’s press team. Do you mean that I should just send an e-mail to CEA via their website?)
This is very very helpful feedback, thank you for taking the time to give it (here and on the other post). Also, I’m way less anxious getting feedback like this than trying to hopelessly gauge things by upvotes and downvotes. I think I need to talk more to individual EAs and engage more with comments/express my doubts more like I’m doing now. My initial instinct was to run away (post/interact less), but this feels much better other than being more helpful.
Thanks a lot! This is definitely going to be helpful :)
I don’t really get this feedback. Does reality say that people are actually more negative about Longtermism if it is introduced in this way? I’m a big fan of technological advancement and I expect my audience to be sort of similar. Also, what about engagement? I’m ok getting more criticism if it means more engagement (provided correctness of the content, and still all within reason). Does this make sense? In a previous version of the script there were also emulations in the mix! My experience says that on YT you ought to optimize for being the least boring you can be (in a good way, without causing drama etc.), not the opposite (without sacrificing correctness etc etc). And also enhance your personality BIG TIME, not suppress it. I think, in general, it is emerging that there are two goals here that are more or less in conflict: safety and engagement (safety and capability? :O). I need to take time to think how to actually blend them.
Yes, Animator has already taken note from previous feedback, and she is integrating it in the new animations. Same for gender parity (although you’ll probably see that later).
I don’t think we should let the most unreasonable haters maneuver what we say, but if it is of any reassurance the plan is to have a channel with its own legs. It will not be a core brand thing to be associated with EA or LW*.
That said, don’t discount the value of the connection rationality-EA. It’s probably true that EA is rationality applied to altruism, and many of the most valuable EAs are also LW people.
*Upon reflection, this is probably too early to say and not true right now. What I can say is that at least the channel probably won’t be linked to the forums for the reasons already stated in the post.