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jimrandomh comments on POSITION: Design and Write Rationality Curriculum - Less Wrong
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One problem with pitching "rationality" is that implying that someone lacks rationality puts them on the defensive; it sounds as though you're trying to bring people from below-baseline up to baseline, rather than from baseline to a higher level. I've gotten better reactions when using the phrase "advanced sanity techniques". Suggesting that someone study them conveys the existence of a higher level, without being perceived as a status attack. I think that if the name is descriptive, it's important that it contains something ("advanced" or an equivalent word) which clearly communicates the fact that it is not aimed at low-status people.
Advanced critical thinking skills?
Both "rationality" and "sanity" imply that the person to whom the class is addressed isn't rational or sane. OTOH people already tend to think that "critical thinking skills" are a good thing to learn. (i.e. the popular cached thought: "A liberal arts degree may not prepare you for a specific job, but it does impart valuable critical thinking skills")
Absolutely agreed. While rhetorically it might work cross-purposes to "raising the sanity waterline" (in the sense of raising people's expectations about "sanity"), it would be good to have a term that says "There's nothing wrong with you, but here's a way to be even better that you might not know about".