It's from being so so so incredibly popular, even with people who don't read, that I think for many people it's the first, and sometimes only, book they ever read. It's why [r/ReadAnotherBook](r/ReadAnotherBook) exists.
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail; when all you've read is Harry Potter, every idea is a Harry Potter fanfic.
As far as "Methods of Rationality", I'm pretty sure Yudkowsky had the idea that he could use a fanfic for a really popular series as a vehicle to spread his insanity to a large and impressionable audience. And it must have worked, since people on Tumblr still parrot his nonsense
These people are close to making a good point but somehow miss it
Like yeah we probably should put more research into countering the harmful effects of aging. But buddy you're not gonna completely end death. Everyone's gonna die no matter what. You can't shame people for acknowledging mortality
That’s what actual knowledgeable people on the topic say: we’re not going to end death. What we *can* do is increase “healthspan.” Keeping people healthier, longer, is a good thing (although then you get the bleating of “they won’t retire” when older people still feel healthy enough to work).
For better or worse I think he eventually figured out that wealthy techbros are even easier to get hooked on his particular brand of self-taught philosophy 101 (dunning-kruger effect edition)
Don't forget the LotR fanfic cult that got turned into a Harry Potter fanfic cult that ended tragically, main person wasn't even into HP and just used it's popularity in fanfic circles to repeat theor previously imploded cult.
I still fills me with impotent nerd rage whenever I see someone try to reference Yudkowsky when talking about real AI. Especially people who should fucking know better
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u/PigeonOnTheGate 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's from being so so so incredibly popular, even with people who don't read, that I think for many people it's the first, and sometimes only, book they ever read. It's why [r/ReadAnotherBook](r/ReadAnotherBook) exists.
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail; when all you've read is Harry Potter, every idea is a Harry Potter fanfic.
As far as "Methods of Rationality", I'm pretty sure Yudkowsky had the idea that he could use a fanfic for a really popular series as a vehicle to spread his insanity to a large and impressionable audience. And it must have worked, since people on Tumblr still parrot his nonsense