Emotional Status: Self-Doubt, Epistemic-humility[1]
I find myself abandoning multiple written projects due to this idea: I am writing something someone has already done a better job than me at.
The Conditional: If I write something I've already encountered AND I may know less than that person, then I am cluttering the EA space, and possibly redirecting traffic from more intelligent, well-read individuals.
The Question: Thoughts?
On the other hand, I acknowledge that I might have some novel ideas and something to add.
Is it just me, or do others also feel that sense of overwhelm when encountering wonderfully thought-out posts by @Scott Alexander and others?
Sometimes, I read his works, or others on the EA forum or LessWrong, and I realize how small my knowledge map is.
Any advice, consolation, or arguments would be greatly appreciated. I'm attempting to overcome this subtle perfectionism and become more active on the forum.
- ^
I figured I'd throw in this "emotional status" instead of epistemic status disclaimer as a means to demonstrate the emotions that are influencing this since there aren't any fact claims going on.
Also, I recognize that epistemic humility is a good thing, but today I am far more epistemically humble than others due to multiple encounters with my hidden assumptions this week.
There are other goals you could adopt.
To learn and develop your own thinking. If that's your goal, it doesn't matter as much whether you share it, or the reception it gets.
To share important ideas. If you're absorbing a lot of your content from the EA forum, try writing somewhere else. Other people may not have been exposed to these ideas, so you might be able to do more to improve the average quality.
My personal hot-take is that most people should write for a different audience than than themselves. My own ideas often feel stale and obvious to me, while what I consume is fresh and interesting. But occasionally others' have commented that they love my writing (and I don't hear from the one's that don't like it all that much).
Hi Riley,
Thank you. I think you're right to call attention to the idea of writing for the intrinsic nature of the act. It is something I enjoy very much, and find it brings a certain quality of peace to my mind that is unlike any other.
"Other people may not have been exposed to these ideas, so you might be able to do more to improve the average quality. " This is also a point that is worth taking into account and acting out. I have a Substack, which I haven't written on as much as I'd planned to simply because I wasn't certain of the quality of work I... (read more)