Comment by keiferski
4 days ago
I always get the impression that they correlate length and correctness. As if the Perfect Best Answer to some question is an infinitely long essay that resembles someone’s rambling mind obsessing over a particular topic, forever.
Which is part of the reason why many people find their actual arguments lacking, and the attitude self-absorbed. Because they don’t seem super interested in arriving at a precise argument, but rather in demonstrating the operation of their mind.
Length is no substitute for substance. However, reality, as they say, has an surprising amount of detail. That means if someones goal is to adequately represent it you will not be able to do so in a engaging, polemic one-liner that puts everything neatly into a box.
Note that within my argument the arrow of causality points in one direction: To explain complex topics adequately a certain amount of length is needed. That obviously doesn't mean long texts are automatically the more adequate explaination of a complex topic in all cases.
The linked post points out that writing from the rationality community often spends excess time on insubstantial parts of an argument, which can actually distract focus from the truly essential reasoning and doesn't help the reader. I've read a lot from LessWrong/rationality adjacent community and agree with that observation.
Thanks for the friendly clarification