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In the long run, we're all Dad

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Re: In the long run, we're all Dad

#71

Post by Cthulhu_ »

thefaux wrote: post #65
koliber wrote: post #6

Good writing advice says that each sentence has a single goal. The goal is to draw the reader in, and convince them to read the next sentence. This article does it masterfully. The title drew me in. The opening sentence finished the job. Well done.

I always feel like the goal of every Scott Alexander sentence is to show how he is smarter and/or more rational than other people.

It might, but does it come off as pretentious or genuine? It doesn't read like he keeps a thesaurus next to him to sound smarter. Keep in mind he's been doing this for a very long time as well. Also he's well-versed on the subject of rationality, so I would argue that he's probably more rational than most people.

Re: In the long run, we're all Dad

#72

Post by ctoth »

zozbot234 wrote: post #36

Why the heck is this guy using AI robot technobabble like "surprisal-minimization engines" and "hyperpriors" to reference the birth of their kids. That's so fucked up, not everything in the world is about "tech" and VC-fueled bubbles for goodness' sake! I realize that we're on the orange site and VC is everything here, but still it's the first time I've seen anything remotely like this. And regardless it can't possib…

This is literally a joke. A callback to an article called The Demiurge's Older Brother written many, many years before the current AI hype. Also, Scott has been beating the drum of surprisal minimization for years and years now, see articles like [1] and [2].

[0]: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/21/repost-the-demiurges-o...

[1]: https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/09/12/its-bayes-all-the-way-...

[2]: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/03/04/god-help-us-lets-try-t...

Re: In the long run, we're all Dad

#74

Post by zozbot234 »

thefaux wrote: post #65
koliber wrote: post #6

Good writing advice says that each sentence has a single goal. The goal is to draw the reader in, and convince them to read the next sentence. This article does it masterfully. The title drew me in. The opening sentence finished the job. Well done.

I always feel like the goal of every Scott Alexander sentence is to show how he is smarter and/or more rational than other people.

I just feel like a genuinely smart and rational person would not want to describe his newborn kids as "engines" or robot AI's in training as OP does here. That's just ridiculously out of touch, it reads like satire of what some AI-obsessed founder or VC might post here to pitch their new startup. And OP has even written satire of his own about SV social attitudes, how could he possibly fail to see this?

Re: In the long run, we're all Dad

#75

Post by Cthulhu_ »

boiler_up800 wrote: post #16

Congrats to him. I’ve seen stats that somewhere between 30-50% of all twins are born through IVF. So technically not a huge surprise on that result. A little surprised on the 50% death rate for children before the age of 5 in 1800. It’s amazing how recent that is.

Just look at how much health care has improved since then though; back in 1800, while the existence of bacteria was known, their role in infections and the importance of sanitation wasn't known or acknowledged until 1859, and doctors only started to sanitize their hands in 1870. Interesting factoid is that they learned this from midwives (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis).

Re: In the long run, we're all Dad

#77

Post by Cthulhu_ »

zozbot234 wrote: post #36

Why the heck is this guy using AI robot technobabble like "surprisal-minimization engines" and "hyperpriors" to reference the birth of their kids. That's so fucked up, not everything in the world is about "tech" and VC-fueled bubbles for goodness' sake! I realize that we're on the orange site and VC is everything here, but still it's the first time I've seen anything remotely like this. And regardless it can't possib…

He's using domain specific language, if you don't get it you're not at home in the domain and that's just fine. I'm sure there's a ton of meaning hidden in those complex looking words but I'm not at home in that specific domain.

Talk to a layperson about kubernetes and crypto-anarchy and you'll notice their eyes will glaze over as well.

Re: In the long run, we're all Dad

#78

Post by yohannparis »

_gabe_ wrote: post #70
mgaunard wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Myself I closed the tab at the second sentence, so I can't attest to that.

Because the second sentence mentions the Bible? Or some other reason? If it’s the former, I’m a Christian but I don’t just close out articles if they’re written by Richard Dawkins or quickly proclaim that they’re an atheist. There’s still a very real chance that they have some wisdom to share. Just because people share a different religious view than me doesn’t mean I can’t learn from them.

I stopped when they grouped the NYT journalists with murderers and drug-dealers. Clearly someone biais, that also use the bible to make their points. No thank you.

Re: In the long run, we're all Dad

#80

Post by apsurd »

carrozo wrote: post #39
adamlgerber wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scott Alexander is not for everyone (as I've learned by unsuccessfully foisting him on friends for years) but for people who are even remotely interested he is probably the greatest internet writer alive. I'd love to hear alternative GOATs.

For me, Sam Kriss takes that title by a large margin: https://samkriss.substack.com/

thank you thank you! i clicked in and gave it a read.

he's a curmudgeon with love in his heart. and style. i'm laughing my head off. love it, thanks!

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