…no? There’s a link mentioning Scott Alexander which does lead to ACX, but without any background or context. It’s a fairly big assumption that others know what “ACX” is and how SA is connected to it.
I didn’t connect the dots immediately, but turns out I tried reading Unsong back in the day. I quit when I realised Alexander’s ties to rationalist and effective altruist thought 🤷
Oh, sorry, I misremembered the link as saying ACX, but you’re right, it does say Scott Alexander.
Loved Unsong, I’m sorry you have had bad experiences with rationalists/EAs. :/ Yudkowsky is pretty weird and egotistical, still enjoyed his writing though. Here is a good essay defending EA, just basically reminding you that fundamentally EA is about convincing rich people to donate to life-saving charities; I don’t really see why this would be harmful. The biggest criticisms of EA I see are “well there shouldn’t be rich people!” – like, I agree, but, how is that relevant?
Different essay, but I love this quote:
Something else happened that month. On November 11, FTX fell apart and was revealed as a giant scam. Suddenly everyone hated effective altruists. Publications that had been feting us a few months before pivoted to saying they knew we were evil all along. I practiced rehearsing the words “I have never donated to charity, and if I did, I certainly wouldn’t care whether it was effective or not”.
…no? There’s a link mentioning Scott Alexander which does lead to ACX, but without any background or context. It’s a fairly big assumption that others know what “ACX” is and how SA is connected to it.
I didn’t connect the dots immediately, but turns out I tried reading Unsong back in the day. I quit when I realised Alexander’s ties to rationalist and effective altruist thought 🤷
Oh, sorry, I misremembered the link as saying ACX, but you’re right, it does say Scott Alexander.
Loved Unsong, I’m sorry you have had bad experiences with rationalists/EAs. :/ Yudkowsky is pretty weird and egotistical, still enjoyed his writing though. Here is a good essay defending EA, just basically reminding you that fundamentally EA is about convincing rich people to donate to life-saving charities; I don’t really see why this would be harmful. The biggest criticisms of EA I see are “well there shouldn’t be rich people!” – like, I agree, but, how is that relevant?
Different essay, but I love this quote: