dxu comments on Two Cult Koans - Less Wrong

54 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 21 December 2007 05:45AM

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Comment author: dxu 07 February 2015 01:59:37AM 4 points [-]

Okay, so taking a look at this checklist for LessWrong, we get...

People are put in physically or emotionally distressing situations;

Nope. (Well, not intentionally, anyway... does the basilisk count? People did have nightmares from that...)

Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized;

...Sort of? I mean, "rationality" is trumpeted as the Winning Way, but I'd say that's justified in that it is the Winning Way. Besides, the category of "rationality" is rather broad, which might mean it doesn't satisfy the definition of "one simple explanation"... eh. Tentatively going with "yes" for now.

They receive what seems to be unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from a charismatic leader or group;

Uh, yeah, not even close.

They get a new identity based on the group;

Pretty clear that this one gets a "yes". People self-identify as "LWers" all the time.

They are subject to entrapment (isolation from friends, relatives and the mainstream culture)

Nope.

So, LessWrong meets two of the five criteria, and does not satisfy the remaining three. Does that make it a cult, or not?