AMA with @vgr starts now!

Venkatesh Rao has been writing ribbonfarm.com since 2007. He's also the author of Tempo, a book on timing & decision-making.

Vgr consults executives to help stress-test their thinking and build systems for their organizations.

Most recently, he ran summerofprotocols.com

Ask away 🎤

Blogger at ribbonfarm.com, running summerofprotocols.com, host of /gloom ☀️

@vgr Do you really think "realism" is the right term for your ideology? Seems self-indulgent and autodeceptive. Like a real realist would know they don't see reality.

/toc  Writing at terminallyonchain.xyz | co-host /latenightcrew

The only problem is externality pricing.

Building https://negationgame.com

I don't bother with labels for introspection. But "realist" is often a convenient label to use to introduce myself in some contexts where everybody else is being too idealistic or cynical or abstract or whatever. The philosophical sense of the word is a bit of a conflation here. I think about that... philosophically

Sometimes yes, sometimes not 

Feels like you’re overthinking a word that doesn’t merit it? Socially it’s a practical word. Philosophically it is sometimes useful

But is it actually informative or instructive? Like is there anyone that wouldn't rationalize their ideology by arguing that it's the one best in compliance with reality?

Even the self-described optimists and pessimists I know call themselves such because they argue it's more realistic