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MichaelAnissimov comments on The Landmark Forum — a rationalist's first impression - Less Wrong
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I don't understand why the "Dark Arts" (what a silly term, really) are something we should "beware".
From what I've heard from others, Landmark Forum is essentially a racket designed to pump money out of the naive. Haven't confirmed it myself though.
I suppose the idea behind "beware, dark arts" is that rackets don't just pump money out of the naive, but also out of the clever and the wise with some probability. So even if you're not naive, being forewarned is still a good idea.
That's true, I just think that using the neologism "dark arts" in this case does not make the explanation clearer to the ear; it just obfuscates it. Why not just say that "this is a racket that can fool some people who aren't total idiots"? I'm just expressing my opinion here -- the quibble is not really a matter of right and wrong, just explanatory taste. I appreciate the overall review of Landmark, I'm just reacting to the use of the term "dark arts".
I'd like to see use of this term come to an end.
Strongly disagree. It's a short, sharp, compact expression meaning "These dudes are going to try and pull all the shit I read about in Cialdini; constant vigilance." I've found it very useful to prime myself into an appropriate state of mind. And I need something like that, because I am a doormat and a very, very, very easy sell.
The Dark Arts warning stands for "This organization employs salesmanship tactics such as framing, recruiting your friends as salespeople, and exploiting the affect heuristic. You could end up in a cognitive state where you think you are making a rational purchasing decision, but in fact are making a biased purchasing decision. Being aware of this fact, and using specific countermeasures, can protect you from such a situation."