KurtB — LessWrong

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KurtB — LessWrong

Replying toVote on Interesting Disagreements

In human interactions at any scale, it is net good to at least momentarily consider the Elephant and/or the Player, with very few exceptions.

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KurtB2y

I'm very happy to read this. I feel lucky that Lisa works at MIRI, and I feel major gratitude to her and everyone else who contributed behind the scenes.

KurtB2y*

I have some replies to Nate's reply.

Overview:

I’m not asking anyone to modify their personality at all. I mainly wish I had been warned about what was in store for me when I joined MIRI, and I want such warnings to be a visible part of Nate's reputation.
I feel some pressure to match Nate's conciliatory tone, but something feels incongruous about it. I'm concerned that people will read Nate's calm, kindly replies and come away with the wrong idea of how he presented himself at MIRI.
I find Nate’s additional context to be, well…missing some important context. See below...

More context and recollections

It’s true that I didn’t report directly to Nate, and there could be... (read 2859 more words →)

KurtB2y*

Alright, I’ll say it.

I did office operations at MIRI from Sep 2017 to June 2018 as a contractor and it finally feels right to share. All views herein are my own and not meant to represent anyone else. I intended to write a few paragraphs here but ended up with several pages.

Okay, so...my gut wants me to shout, “He’s not simply overly blunt in math arguments! He’s mean and scary[1] toward ops workers! Doesn’t anyone notice this?! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!” That’s my gut reaction. My reasoned words below will be longer and more nuanced[2].

I wish some people at MIRI had explicitly told me up front something like, “Hey, if... (read 1623 more words →)

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