"but then, most humor is based on ridiculing something" I would contest this.
I don't think HPMOR was shooting at "stupidity" so much as "irrationality"; rationality is, after all, a sort of martial art that everyone should be able to learn. Quirrell does take shots at "stupid people", but I think one of the parts of Harry's coming of age is him discovering that intelligence, as such, is overrated, and that it's better to be kind than to be sharp.
"It's not like we, in turn, refrain from mocking those we perceive to be in the out-group."
... I do. Mocking people is bad. If there's something wrong with their epistemiological or instrumental rationality, their notions or their choices, you should point it out as honestly and clearly as possible; doing so by mocking them seems counter-productive,
Certainly, few people would mock someone to their face. I agree that mockery is usually harmful and counterproductive, and I'm sorry if I implied that you, personally, have a habit of going around mocking people. I was referring to so-called "nerds" in the collective - I think the stereotype that exists within nerdy circles of nerds being virtuous, put-upon victims of others' mockery is largely untrue. I saw that reflected in the article, and I was pointing out that in my experience, supposedly intelligent, sensitive "nerds" are no more...
This is my first attempt at starting a casual conversation on LW where people don't have to worry about winning or losing points, and can just relax and have social fun together.
So, Big Bang Theory. That series got me wondering. It seems to be about "geeks", and not the basement-dwelling variety either; they're highly successful and accomplished professionals, each in their own field. One of them has been an astronaut, even. And yet, everything they ever accomplish amounts to absolutely nothing in terms of social recognition or even in terms of personal happiness. And the thing is, it doesn't even get better for their "normal" counterparts, who are just as miserable and petty.
Consider, then; how would being rationalists would affect the characters on this show? The writing of the show relies a lot on laughing at people rather than with them; would rationalist characters subvert that? And how would that rationalist outlook express itself given their personalities? (After all, notice how amazingly different from each other Yudkowsky, Hanson, and Alicorn are, just to name a few; they emphasize rather different things, and take different approaches to both truth-testing and problem-solving).
Note: this discussion does not need to be about rationalism. It can be a casual, normal discussion about the series. Relax and enjoy yourselves.
But the reason I brought up that series is that its characters are excellent examples of high intelligence hampered by immense irrationality. The apex of this is represented by Dr. Sheldon Cooper, who is, essentially, a complete fundamentalist over every single thing in his life; he applies this attitude to everything, right down to people's favorite flavor of pudding: Raj is "axiomatically wrong" to prefer tapioca, because the best pudding is chocolate. Period. This attitude makes him a far, far worse scientist than he thinks, as he refuses to even consider any criticism of his methods or results.