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Wow. I know almost nothing about the author or what he's accomplished (other than a skim of his Wikipedia page), but nevertheless, to summarize ungenerously a

by comex 12y ago

Wow. I know almost nothing about the author or what he's accomplished (other than a skim of his Wikipedia page), but nevertheless, to summarize ungenerously a bit... - 'My publicly writing is a problem because "seething pools of corruption" in journalism will sneer at me.' - 'To continue writing, I need to improve the global social condition.' - 'I've designed and had someone program a Wikipedia replacement which has a one third probability of succeeding.' - 'I think I can predict startup success in a way almost nobody else can.' - 'Please involve me in <large list of futuristic projects>'. That's... a bit amazing as a coda to a piece of fanfiction. Yes, I know HPMOR is not your average fanfic (I've read at least two thirds of it), but just... take a moment to step back and admire the post, and the level of self-confidence required to write it. All I can say.

dlss 12y ago
Don't forget 'I hope to personally save the planet by solving the value alignment problem in artificial intelligence', which is where he's spending most of his time. Those are side projects he wants to do with the help of (I'm assuming) the other rationalists in Berkeley. FWIW I'm super excited about EY doing angel investing, I'd view an investment from him as more signal baring (and more of a trophy) than a YC investment... though I'm not sure how common a feeling this is. It's unfortunate that his tone / style of writing generally annoys exceptionally smart people. It took me several years to get over it personally.
Amezarak 12y ago
> Yes, I know HPMOR is not your average fanfic (I've read at least two thirds of it), but just... take a moment to step back and admire the post, and the level of self-confidence required to write it. All I can say. Consider that Harry in HPMOR is essentially a stand-in for a younger version of the author, and it becomes less surprising. He literally believes that he is an exceptional genius and that he is one of the only rational people in the world. You can read his "autobiography" here: http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Yudkowsky%27s_coming_of_age http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Yudkowsky%27s_coming_of_age Additionally, he regards his work on AI as literally the most important thing in the world because he sincerely believes that it is the only possible way to save mankind. I have some measure of respect for EY and he clearly is very intelligent but I think most people outside of his community would regard him as having a somewhat inflated ego.
- yjm 12y ago
  Of course they would, you have to have pretty big ego problems to hate on him in the first place. Very few people in power will accept that they're not the smartest most capable guy around. Not saying EY is god and can do anything but I trust more in his potential and competence when he actually starts working on a task than in any random claimed profesional on said task. You can not write all the POVs in HPMOR and still have 'giant ego' problems. He specifically addresses these issues (scene where harry learns to 'lose'). I think most peoples problem with him is that they hate how brazen he is in taking chances, they might think 'who is this arrogant asshole who thinks he DESERVES to talk to JKR' but the thing is he doesn't BELIEVE he deserves anything. He knows the only price for asking is hate by this group of people and the reward is far greater so why NOT ask?
  - Amezarak 12y ago
    > Not saying EY is god and can do anything but I trust more in his potential and competence when he actually starts working on a task than in any random claimed profesional on said task. What are some examples of substantial accomplishments that we can look to so as to justify this faith in his ability to get things done, and done well? I think you're taking my criticism as much more severe than it actually is. I don't doubt there is a lot of optimization that can be done in the realm of (for example) startup investing - I've seen enough of how the business world works - and I expect that EY may indeed be able to make a difference there. But to have more trust in EY than professionals and subject-matter experts in general seems rather absurd, and is what opens up EY to criticisms of supporting a minor personality cult. > He specifically addresses these issues (scene where harry learns to 'lose'). In which he is intended to learn delayed gratification, not humility. > He knows the only price for asking is hate by this group of people and the reward is far greater so why NOT ask? I'm not saying there is anything wrong with asking. I hope that he does succeed, particularly in contacting JKR, maybe even winning a Hugo awawrd (I enjoy HPMOR but I think that it is overrated). I have no problem with him seeking contacts to become an investor, talk to people about city optimization, etc. I have a lot of sympathy for what he's saying about the attitude he gets, and that is reflected on the rest of his work, because he's famous for writing fanfiction. But simply reading his writings provides ample evidence that EY, while genuine and sincere in his beliefs, and intelligent, has a rather overly high estimation of himself and his work, and knowing that puts OP's comment into more context.
deutronium 12y ago
Yeah, he certainly comes across as arrogant from that. Has he actually experience in the areas, he wants to be involved in. Also what actually is the wikipedia replacement he's talking about?

by comex 12y ago

dlss 12y ago

Don't forget 'I hope to personally save the planet by solving the value alignment problem in artificial intelligence', which is where he's spending most of his time. Those are side projects he wants to do with the help of (I'm assuming) the other rationalists in Berkeley. FWIW I'm super excited about EY doing angel investing, I'd view an investment from him as more signal baring (and more of a trophy) than a YC investment... though I'm not sure how common a feeling this is. It's unfortunate that his tone / style of writing generally annoys exceptionally smart people. It took me several years to get over it personally.

Amezarak 12y ago

> Yes, I know HPMOR is not your average fanfic (I've read at least two thirds of it), but just... take a moment to step back and admire the post, and the level of self-confidence required to write it. All I can say. Consider that Harry in HPMOR is essentially a stand-in for a younger version of the author, and it becomes less surprising. He literally believes that he is an exceptional genius and that he is one of the only rational people in the world. You can read his "autobiography" here: http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Yudkowsky%27s_coming_of_age http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Yudkowsky%27s_coming_of_age Additionally, he regards his work on AI as literally the most important thing in the world because he sincerely believes that it is the only possible way to save mankind. I have some measure of respect for EY and he clearly is very intelligent but I think most people outside of his community would regard him as having a somewhat inflated ego.

yjm 12y ago
Of course they would, you have to have pretty big ego problems to hate on him in the first place. Very few people in power will accept that they're not the smartest most capable guy around. Not saying EY is god and can do anything but I trust more in his potential and competence when he actually starts working on a task than in any random claimed profesional on said task. You can not write all the POVs in HPMOR and still have 'giant ego' problems. He specifically addresses these issues (scene where harry learns to 'lose'). I think most peoples problem with him is that they hate how brazen he is in taking chances, they might think 'who is this arrogant asshole who thinks he DESERVES to talk to JKR' but the thing is he doesn't BELIEVE he deserves anything. He knows the only price for asking is hate by this group of people and the reward is far greater so why NOT ask?
- Amezarak 12y ago
  > Not saying EY is god and can do anything but I trust more in his potential and competence when he actually starts working on a task than in any random claimed profesional on said task. What are some examples of substantial accomplishments that we can look to so as to justify this faith in his ability to get things done, and done well? I think you're taking my criticism as much more severe than it actually is. I don't doubt there is a lot of optimization that can be done in the realm of (for example) startup investing - I've seen enough of how the business world works - and I expect that EY may indeed be able to make a difference there. But to have more trust in EY than professionals and subject-matter experts in general seems rather absurd, and is what opens up EY to criticisms of supporting a minor personality cult. > He specifically addresses these issues (scene where harry learns to 'lose'). In which he is intended to learn delayed gratification, not humility. > He knows the only price for asking is hate by this group of people and the reward is far greater so why NOT ask? I'm not saying there is anything wrong with asking. I hope that he does succeed, particularly in contacting JKR, maybe even winning a Hugo awawrd (I enjoy HPMOR but I think that it is overrated). I have no problem with him seeking contacts to become an investor, talk to people about city optimization, etc. I have a lot of sympathy for what he's saying about the attitude he gets, and that is reflected on the rest of his work, because he's famous for writing fanfiction. But simply reading his writings provides ample evidence that EY, while genuine and sincere in his beliefs, and intelligent, has a rather overly high estimation of himself and his work, and knowing that puts OP's comment into more context.

deutronium 12y ago

Yeah, he certainly comes across as arrogant from that. Has he actually experience in the areas, he wants to be involved in. Also what actually is the wikipedia replacement he's talking about?