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TracingWoodgrains launches a defense of Manifest's controversial reputation, all without betraying a basic understanding of what the word "controversial" means.

forum.effectivealtruism.org My experience at the controversial Manifest 2024 — EA Forum

Comment by TracingWoodgrains - I'm not particularly happy to see people within this community immediately present and accept the framing that Manifest was controversial because people reacted harshly to an article explicitly aimed at smearing a community I belong to with reckless disregard for truth...

My experience at the controversial Manifest 2024 — EA Forum

...And if it weren't for that one joke by Hannibal, Bill Cosby would be very uncontroversial.

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  • Ben Stewart:

    Manifest's decisions are and have been bad not in terms of PR, but bad for its own epistemics, the forecasting community, EA, and basic human decency.

    TW:

    "Basic human decency"? Jeez, mate. I understand not wanting to engage with right-wingers personally, but treating it as a deep affront when others choose to do so is off-putting, to say the least.

    Ben Stewart:

    Yeah that was a bit strong, sorry late here.

    Ben, honey. You do not have to apologize for referring to platforming Hanania as an affront to basic human decency. That TW is successful in shaming you for accurately identifying what happened here is no credit to your own ability to recognize the dangerous epistemic bubble in which you find yourself, or the cultlike social pressures that persuade you to distrust your own correct judgement -- not because TW challenged your facts or your interpretation, but because he -- gasp! -- called it "off-putting."

    Not everyone's going to like you. Not everyone's going to agree with you. Social stigma is a good and correct tool in your toolbox when a member of your community says that cites-the-Turner-Diaries, enforced-sterilization, anti-"miscegenation", “women’s liberation = the end of human civilization” Richard Hanania has something valuable to add.

52 comments