I observe and assert that the type of mind that does this is a disproportionately important mind to influence with "rationalist" or SingInst memes.
From a Singularity perspective, the importance of rationality evangelism is being way overrated. There is still a tendency to mix up rationality and intelligence, as if becoming more rational will produce radically superior problem-solving skills. But if we're talking about how to solve a problem like Friendly AI design, then what you need above all are people with high intelligence and relevant knowledge. "Aversion to lost purposes", whatever that is, might be a trait of talented idealistic personalities who get distressed by dead hopes and organizational dysfunction, but some people learn early that that is normality, and their own progress is all the more streamlined for not fighting these facts of life.
In my opinion, the main source of the morale needed to sustain an effort like FAI research, in the midst of general indifference and incomprehension, is simply a sense among the protagonists that they are capable of solving the problem or of otherwise making a difference, and that derives in turn from a sense of one's own abilities. If the objective is to solve the most difficult problems, and not just to improve the general quality of problem-solving in society, then rationality evangelism is a rather indiscriminate approach.
Agree that rationality evangelism (edit:) might be overrated, the importance is spreading the Friendliness-might-be-important memes far and apparently SingInst is using "rationality" as one of their memetic weapons of choice. I personally am not suggesting this memetic strategy is a well-thought-out one. "Aversion to lost purposes" totally doesn't at all mean getting distressed because this world isn't the should world, it means the thing that Eliezer talks about in his post "Lost Purposes".
A short reply to the Book of Eliezer and a comment on the Book of Luke.
No one wants to save the world. You must thoroughly research this. Those who think they truly think they want to truly want to save the world, in reality they're actually just horribly afraid of the consequences of not saving the world. And that is a world of difference.
Eliezer, you know that ridiculously strong aversion to lost purposes and sphexishness that you have?1 Sometimes, very rarely, other people have that too. And most often it is a double-negative aversion. I am sure you know as much as very nearly anyone what it feels like to work from the inside of a triple-negative motivation system by default, for fear of being as evil and imperfect as every other human in history, among other less noble fears. You quickly learn to go meta to escape the apparently impossible double-binds—if going meta isn't itself choosing a side—but by constantly moving vertically you never practice pushing to the left or to the right, or choosing which responsibility to sacrifice in the first place. And even if you could, why would you want to be evil?
And for this rare kind of person, telling them to stop obsessing over prudence or to just try to make marginal contributions, immediately gets pattern-matched to that ages-old adage: "The solution is easy, just shut up and be evil.". Luckily it is this kind of person we can make the most use of, when it comes to the big crunch time—if we're not already in it.
1We do not yet know how to teach this skill, and no one can be a truly aspiring rationalist without it, even if they can still aspire to perfection. That does mean I believe there are like maybe 5 truly aspiring rationalists in this community, a larger set of falsely aspiring rationalists, a further much larger set of of truly aspiring aspiring "rationalists", and a further much much larger set of falsely aspiring aspiring "rationalists". (3, 30, 300, 3000, say.) I don't think anyone thinks about this nearly enough, because no one has any affordance—no affordance to not not-think about it—especially not when they're thinking fuzzy happy thoughts about creating aspiring rationalists or becoming a rationalist.