This is a special post for quick takes by Kabir Kumar. Only they can create top-level comments. Comments here also appear on the Quick Takes page and All Posts page.
I read the 'applause lights' chapter of R:A to Z today and the pure applause lights speech sounds like lots of speeches that have been given to the UN. And at events. And in civil policy briefs. And in funding applications. Lots of places.
I wonder what the 'applause lights' for LessWrong are
Ngo's most recent example, What just happened? A retrospective of AI alignment, has 166 karma. Wei Dai's The Long (Self-)Correction has 230 karma. Ngo's quick take had 216 karma.
talk about well known, maybe generally liked thing (weaker confidence on this part - generally disliked could work too - as long as there is community consensus on it being positive/negative generally speaking, i think)
offer critique/reframing of this, that lets the author and reader feel smarter than those already doing the thing/those who have done the thing in the past and aren't highest status people in the community
say something that lets others bounce off of you and make their own spin off ideas and express ideas that they ... (read more)