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I’ve noticed a similar writing style in a lot of others from the same group (AI Doomsdayers/“Rationalists”). Most of the time I stumble across something from th

by bnralt 4y ago

I’ve noticed a similar writing style in a lot of others from the same group (AI Doomsdayers/“Rationalists”). Most of the time I stumble across something from that corner of the web it feels like the author was thinking “Why convey an idea in just one sentence when I can convey it in ten?”

deleted 4y ago
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xdavidliu 4y ago
Reminds me a of a quote by Chomsky about post-modernism (not what EY is, but similar to what you're talking about) > Some of what appears in it sort of actually makes sense, but when you reproduce it in monosyllables, it turns out to be truisms. It’s perfectly true that when you look at scientists in the West, they’re mostly men, it’s perfectly true that women have had a hard time breaking into the scientific fields, and it’s perfectly true that there are institutional factors determining how science proceeds that reflect power structures. All of this can be described literally in monosyllables, and it turns out to be truisms. On the other hand, you don’t get to be a respected intellectual by presenting truisms in monosyllables. https://www.openculture.com/2013/07/noam-chomsky-calls-postmodern-critiques-of-science-over-inflated-polysyllabic-truisms.html https://www.openculture.com/2013/07/noam-chomsky-calls-postm... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscurantism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscurantism
PaulHoule 4y ago
It's like Amway, people get into the EY cult and it takes over their life, they are trained to talk like EY to drive all the "normies" away, isolate them, and make them easier to control.
mitthrowaway2 4y ago
Using a lot of words is often a response to getting repeatedly misinterpreted or misunderstood by others. It results in putting up ten explanatory, context, definitional, or guardrail sentences for each one sentence of novel content.
- xdavidliu 4y ago
  I think you're talking about something else: using words extremely precisely, even to the point of the being annoying. I recall reading the Unabomber's manifesto and being annoyed by the almost paranoid preciseness. In contrast, this comment chain was more about EY using large words pretentiously, to suggest expertise or intellectual depth that he doesn't actually have.

by bnralt 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

xdavidliu 4y ago

Reminds me a of a quote by Chomsky about post-modernism (not what EY is, but similar to what you're talking about) > Some of what appears in it sort of actually makes sense, but when you reproduce it in monosyllables, it turns out to be truisms. It’s perfectly true that when you look at scientists in the West, they’re mostly men, it’s perfectly true that women have had a hard time breaking into the scientific fields, and it’s perfectly true that there are institutional factors determining how science proceeds that reflect power structures. All of this can be described literally in monosyllables, and it turns out to be truisms. On the other hand, you don’t get to be a respected intellectual by presenting truisms in monosyllables. https://www.openculture.com/2013/07/noam-chomsky-calls-postmodern-critiques-of-science-over-inflated-polysyllabic-truisms.html https://www.openculture.com/2013/07/noam-chomsky-calls-postm... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscurantism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscurantism

PaulHoule 4y ago

It's like Amway, people get into the EY cult and it takes over their life, they are trained to talk like EY to drive all the "normies" away, isolate them, and make them easier to control.

mitthrowaway2 4y ago

Using a lot of words is often a response to getting repeatedly misinterpreted or misunderstood by others. It results in putting up ten explanatory, context, definitional, or guardrail sentences for each one sentence of novel content.

xdavidliu 4y ago
I think you're talking about something else: using words extremely precisely, even to the point of the being annoying. I recall reading the Unabomber's manifesto and being annoyed by the almost paranoid preciseness. In contrast, this comment chain was more about EY using large words pretentiously, to suggest expertise or intellectual depth that he doesn't actually have.