2012 Survey Results

Results of the 2012 LessWrong Census/Survey (1195 respondents). Opens with a thoughtful discussion of why the population is hard to count (high turnover; many community members hang out on IRC/meetups and never took the survey; growth had slowed to ~15% year-on-year from the prior 650%/two-years). Then the standard categorical data (89% male, orientation, relationship style, politics, religion) and the usual numeric probability table. As with the other survey posts, the value is the longitudinal community snapshot and the meta-point about a community outgrowing the main site, not standalone insight.

Quality 51 · Solid. Solid (low). A competent community-data dump, slightly elevated by the genuinely useful meta-discussion of measurement difficulty and a high-turnover community outgrowing the site, but still fundamentally survey data with light commentary. 51.

Claude’s paradigm shift 20 · Slight. Slight. Data presentation with negligible publication-era conceptual novelty. 20.

Real-world impact 2 · Minor. The 2012 LessWrong census results, lifted slightly by a meta-discussion of measurement difficulty; fundamentally a survey data dump within the community, no material-world reach → RWI 2.