Conversation

When I was younger, I was much more aggressive, conservative, and hostile. I once asked someone a 'debate' question around a touchy topic, ready to fight; she responded neutrally, well-considered, and asked gentle, clarifying questions. That snapped me out of it - permanently. 1/

118

1,099

Replying to

Someone commented under the thread screenshotted that it was a good analogy for the way that the rationalist movement became a breeding ground for people focused on talking about things like Race and IQ relationships and i felt it was extraordinarily apt

Replying to

and

Like I, too thought that I wanted to engage only with rationalist means in examining the world. Then I started looking at the people doing so and they engage with and court people like Stefan fucking Molyneux and I immediately knew something was up.

Replying to

and

Like if Rationalists believe that the ecology of their spheres of discussion are immune from people with actually reprehensible POVs infiltrating under guise of ‘just asking questions’.... that’s how bad shit happens

Replying to

and

Nearly no rationalists I’ve come across address the mechanics and the reasons that this seems to happen repeatedly and as such I have little interest in contemporary rationalist spheres of discussion ( although it is an ideological approach I seem to click with?)

Aella

@Aella_Girl

Replying to

@coolyurtpal

I do think this can be a failure mode;I also think that while they may fail to kick out people they should, they don't kick out people who shouldn't be kicked out, but would unfairly be removed from other communities.

12:45 AM · Aug 24, 2020

Replying to

Can you give an example of somebody who ‘would unfairly be removed from other communities’? Maybe doesn’t have to be specific - but an example of a line of enquiry you would categorise as such

Replying to

Maybe what I’m saying is that if there are conclusions that would align with ethnic cleansing - and that these conclusions are reached by rational enquiry and appear as sound arguments, then I view the rationalist toolset as fundamentally flawed