Joe Carlsmith

And I think they both draw on kind of like different parts of myself and I try to think about them in different ways.

So, you know, I think about the, you know, some of the reports as are much more like, this is like, I'm kind of more fully optimizing for like trying to do something impactful or trying to kind of, kind of

yeah, there's kind of more of an impact orientation there.

And then on the kind of essay writing, I give myself much more leeway to kind of, yeah, just let other parts of myself and other parts of my concerns kind of come out and kind of, you know, self-expression and like aesthetics and other sorts of things.

Even while they're both, I think for me, part of an underlying kind of similar concern or, you know, an attempt to have a kind of integrated orientation towards the situation.

I mean, I don't want to speak... I think some rationalists, you know, lots of rationalists, like, love these different things.

Well, so on just the general question of, like, how should people value great works or something, I think people can kind of...

fail in both directions, right?

And I think some people, maybe like maybe SPF or other people, they're sort of interested in puncturing a certain kind of like sacredness and prestige that people can try to kind of like,

Yeah, that people associate with some of these works.

And I think there's a way in which, and then, but as a result can miss some of the like genuine value.

But I think they're responding to a real failure mode on the other end, which is to kind of, yeah, be too enamored of this prestige and sacredness to kind of siphon it off as some like weird legitimating function for your own thought, instead of like thinking for yourself.

losing touch with like, what do you actually think or what do you actually learn from?

Like, I think sometimes, you know, these epigraphs, careful, right?

I mean, it's like, I think, you know, and I'm not saying I'm immune from these vices.

I think there can be a like, ah, but Bob said this.

And it's like, whoa, very deep, right?

And it's like, these are humans like us, right?

And I think the canon and like other great works and all sorts of things have a lot of value and value.

you know, we shouldn't, I think sometimes it like borders on the way people like read scripture, or I think like there's a kind of like scriptural authority that people will sometimes like ascribe to these things.