Hi Victor, thanks for writing this. I'm also in a phase of questioning the narrative around IP.

I didn't quite understand a part of you writing, so I gave Claude your article and asked it, "... isn't being irrational (from an instrumental sense) an accurate description of a person who takes an action that is harmful to oneself when there are healthier alternative actions available? Even if these actions were developed as a protective mechanism that were rational and healthy in the past."

This was its response:
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" What the author seems to be arguing against is the approach of simply labeling someone's imposter feelings as "irrational" and expecting that recognition alone to fix the problem. They're suggesting that:

1. Simply telling someone their feelings are irrational often doesn't help because these responses are deeply physiological, not just cognitive
2. These feelings developed for legitimate reasons (past experiences of rejection, criticism, etc.)
3. The person might actually be accurately perceiving real social risks in some contexts

The author's issue isn't with recognizing that imposter syndrome behaviors may be currently harmful, but with approaches that dismiss these experiences as merely faulty thinking without addressing the underlying nervous system responses and real past experiences that shaped them.

So while "instrumentally irrational" might be technically accurate in describing behaviors that no longer serve someone well, the author is advocating for a more holistic understanding of why these patterns exist and how to address them effectively.
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Do you think Claude's interpretation is accurate? What would you change?

Based on my own experience, I would expect both Western and non-Western EAs to experience similar events near-constantly, both within EA and without. So it seems it seems like a core crux is whether they occur more frequently or severely in either group / when different groups interact / in some particular setting rather than another.

Thanks for the comment! Not sure if you've seen this, but there's weak evidence that poor CCIs occur less frequently in EA settings than non-Ea settings. 

When asked to compared CCIs between EA settings and non-EA settings,

• 7 out of 14 thought CCIs in EA settings are about the same when compared to non-EA settings.
• 5 out of 14 thought CCIs in EA settings are better for them.
• 2 out of 14 thought CCIs in EA Settings are worse for them.

Hmm you're right, thanks for catching this. I think I probably have some false prior that culture warm terms are more affiliated with internet memes? But yeah, makes sense that a term could be both.

It can be hard to parse between what we view as the gradient between reasonable and unreasonable assumptions

Thanks for bringing this up, I think I did significantly update to being a bit more okay with folks being ignorant, or having false assumptions. It's tough! I would probably make the same mistakes too and would want some space to fumble around and correct myself.

Hmm I think you're right! I don't think my advice doesn't seem to be solving this issue. 
Perhaps a better advice is to just read more about the norms of the country first? And expect such poor CCIs to happen and allow for space to have meta-conversations around what's appropriate?

Ah, thanks for pointing that out. 
And I appreciate the praise!
 

I also feel somewhat confused too. I agree that e.g., Black African Americans are probably pretty close to the category of "West". At the time, I was thinking about the trade off between including people who are sort of in the middle of West and non-West, and having a clearer demarcation between West vs non-West to reduce noise. 

I don't think I have a lot of strong reasons, but I thought the clearer demarcation is more important. If folks disagree about my decision, happy to hear more!

Got it, this was helpful. Thanks!

most prominently transforming LessWrong into something that looks a lot more respectable in a way that I am worried might have shrunk the overton window of what can be discussed there by a lot, and having generally contributed to a bunch of these dynamics

Would you mind sharing  a bit more of what you mean here? 
I'm not sure I understand how an increase in respectability in LessWrong equates to a shrinking overton window. I would have guessed the opposite -- an increase in respectability would have shifted or expanded the overton window in ways that are more epistemically desirable. But I feel like I'm missing something here.

Also, I feel appreciative that you've shared a bunch of concerns and learnings with us.  

Another thing I've noticed -- folks from elite cultures seem less inclined to mix and hangout with non-elite cultures.