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Andy Matuschak
@andy_matuschak
This story viscerally conveys a strange asymmetry in modern creative work: a person like Max can be doing work which produces civilizational-level benefits affecting many millions of people… and yet bad-faith behavior by a *single person* can seriously drain gumption.
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Max Roser
@MaxCRoser
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This thread is more personal than most of the things I share here, but I’m at my limit with Jason Hickel. I want to explain why I dislike him so much and how we got here. This is a personal story over several years so it’ll take a bit of time.
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Andy Matuschak
@andy_matuschak
This seems to be a relatively common problem! People in Max's position usually even *know* that such asymmetric impact is inappropriate and untenable—but of course that doesn't stop it from happening. Maddening.
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Andy Matuschak
@andy_matuschak
I'm not sure what the right response is. People who avoid this problem often do so by ignoring public engagement and criticism. But good-faith critical engagement is essential! I suppose if one masters Stoic advice well enough, one can avoid this problem—but seems rare!
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./orta@mastodon.social --degrowth --🇺🇦 🇪🇹 🇵🇸
@orta
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@andy_matuschak
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@sama
Yeah, it feels like a sad truth is that working on a large scale in the public just puts a larger target on your back because anyone can find fault in any creative output. You either end up with a super thick skin or find ways to shut out potentially useful feedback via filters
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