badger comments on What's in a name? That which we call a rationalist… - Less Wrong

4 Post author: badger 24 April 2009 11:53PM

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Comment author: Jack 25 April 2009 05:48:37AM 4 points [-]

That name is really, really, cool. The only thing that gives me pause is this: Would we regret a cool, secret society-sounding name? Defending an -ism sounds professional and serious. Would you really feel comfortable explaining to a complete stranger or a skeptical family member that you're part of a group called the College of Cartographers? And that this has nothing to do with actual maps. I take it we want a name with which to engage the rest of the world– not a name that best refers to a secret society of rationalists in a science fiction novel.

Still its a really cool name so if you want to start a secret society...

Comment author: badger 25 April 2009 06:00:37AM 1 point [-]

Some people have speculated that facetiously adopting cult features could help us ward off cultishness, but you're right that we don't want to advertise ourselves as that.