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badger comments on What's in a name? That which we call a rationalist… - Less Wrong
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"Optimizer" is the best all-purpose synonym for "rationalist" that I can think of. It applies to both epistemic and instrumental rationality, and captures the notion that all forms of "being really good at something" are subdisciplines of the general Art.
I think we want to stay away from names that reference end results, instead of processes. Goal-based names can make it falsely sound like we have already achieved those goals. To me, "optimizer" is most likely to be interpreted as "one who makes optimal decisions", which would be presumptuous. It can also be interpreted as "one who optimizes (but doesn't necessarily succeed)", but this is the same ambiguity that "rationalist" has.
For example, "rationalist should win!", but I don't think we should go by "winner". On the other hand, "evidentialist" stays away from most claims about what we are like by referencing a position on the justification of beliefs.
To be clear, I wasn't suggesting that we go around calling ourselves "rationalists" or "optimizers"; I was simply pointing out the near-synonymy of those terms as descriptions of what we aspire to be.
Also, names for processes themselves probably had better make reference to underlying goals. Mentally separating the two is unhealthy: see Lost Purposes.