still confused by Eliezer’s assertion that Bay Area rationalists will become less annoying when (and only when) more of us have VC funded startups tbh
antisquark said: Where was this assertion?
On Facebook. Someone posted that they found Bay Area rationalists unpleasant to hang out with because of their insularity and tendency to think outsiders not worth talking to. Eliezer responded “It’s a problem I suspect can only be solved in the long term by having more successful startups and VC money flowing through the community.” Everyone was confused and someone asked if he was trolling, but he continued to stand by his statement.
dataandphilosophy said: I think he thinks that people who have or want startup money only hang out with people who have or want startup money, forming a cohesive unit. And this group is supposed to be less obnoxious I guess? IDK.
Yeah that sounds close to right. Rereading what he wrote, the argument seems to be “Bay Area rationalists are insular because they feel marginalized. They are marginalized because in the Bay Area no one wants to talk to you unless talking to you will help them get VC funding.”
And like … I don’t really agree with any of the logical steps in that argument, and more than that I feel like there’s an easier solution and it’s “Bay Area rationalists should be nice to people even if they don’t know what a principal-agent problem is or whatever”