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Emile comments on What bothers you about Less Wrong? - Less Wrong
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Minor quibble: I think terms "rational" and "irrational" (and "rationalist", "rationality", etc.) tend to be overused, sometimes as vague "good/bad" qualifiers (I've been guilty of that). As a rule of thumb, I'd recommend against using those terms unless
You're using them in a narrow technical meaning, i.e. a rational utility-maximizing agent in economics, or
You're discussing "non-traditional mental skills" like changing one's mind, compensating for cognitive biases or dissolving confusion (i.e. not just being smart, open-minded and an atheist), or
You have above 10000 karma.
Hear, hear! I get a niggling aversive reaction whenever I see those terms used when not absolutely necessary and one of irritation when I see them used as 'good/bad' qualifies. Even more so when the alleged 'rational' action is a subjective claim that I don't even necessarily agree with!
And if those of us with 10k karma don't constrain our usage to the first two cases (and in the case of rationalist/rationality with reluctance even then) then shame on us/them!