I don't think the citations matter much, but the sequences are narrowly optimized -- probably unintentionally -- to reach people with a worldview and cultural background similar to Eliezer or his younger self. Not necessarily libertarians or people with apocalyptic preoccupations, as the survey results should make clear, but definitely people who have at some point wanted to be Kimball Kinnison or a character similar to him.

The grandiose language is one of the ways this manifests itself, but it's not the only one. HPMoR aims a little broader, but not by much.