Kevin Simler

Well that was extremely interesting. Curious to hear what @ctbeiser and/or @sonyasupposedly think about it. They seem like the people I know who’d have the best triangulation on those subcultures.

Most of these ideologies are themselves pretty bad. But I think kids going through the act of living + identifying with them, then ~growing past them, is extremely positive for us societally. The crowd has wisdom, and having it soaked into the minds of tomorrow is heartening.

The top posters in these subcultures are more widely read than some political science professors. They're certainly more open to strange ideas. Given the recent collapse of consensus narratives in politics, more ideation is probably a good thing.

I’m mostly blown away at how politically sophisticated* it’s possible for a teenager to be in this era. * might be the wrong word... just trying to capture how far they are from the incredibly bland and basic views I was capable of holding at that age

I’m surprised to hear you weren’t more sophisticated as a teenager? I came of age on the Internet, I was already read in anarchism and Objectivism by 13, an-cap by 15... In retrospect a LOT of it was cringey, but I’m not sure how I could have done better than just trying it on.

I barely talked to people till I went to college. My younger friends who came of age on the Internet were much more well-spoken, sure of themselves, and experienced at debate than I had been at their age. It convinced me that the Internet can be a positive influence.

I have two conflicting intuitions here: (1) That it’s good to expose yourself to all these ideas and try on lots of different identities early; but also (2) That you’re better off _not_ exposing your mind to the mind-killer until it’s more fully developed.