I'm actually a MoR fan, and I've found it both entertaining and (at times) enlightening.
But I think a "beginning rationalist"s time is much better spent if they're studying philosophy, critical thinking, probability theory, etc. than on writing fanfiction (even if it would be useful in small doses).
That sounds true.
How does one figure out the best order in which to learn these things? With math, there are some areas which depend strongly on previous studies (arithmetic before algebra). Simple geometry doesn't necessarily depend on either arithmetic or algebra though (does it?). I wish we had a breakdown of various sub-disciplines used for rationality.
Last night, here in Portland (OR), some friends and I got together to try to start Rationality Dojo. We talked about it for a while and came up with exactly 4 exercises that we could readily practice:
We also had a whole bunch of semi-formed ideas about selecting a target (happiness, health) and optimizing it a month at a time. Starting a dojo, in a time before organized martial arts, was surely incredibly difficult. I hope we can accrete exercises rather than require a single sensei to invent the majority of the discipline. So I've added a category to the wiki, and I'm asking here. Do you have ideas or refinements for exercises to fit within rationality dojo?