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Raiden comments on The rational rationalist's guide to rationally using "rational" in rational post titles - Less Wrong Discussion
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Comments (51)
Why?
It is almost always used as a redundant jargon term either as an applause light or as an attempt to justify an irrelevant subject as a legitimate subject for discussion.
Most instances of "A rational X of Y" can be replaced with "X of Y".
I agree with you I just don't like articles with a one-word command and no explanation.
To further explain the joke: note the contrast between the title, which crams in more words than can comfortably fit, with the body, which neatly expresses the advised course of action. An explanation that is more communicative but less literary would go as follows:
See also the particularly rational brand of cigarettes.
A joke? Well I feel stupid now!
Low Quality Video if you'd prefer. I think it loses something in text.
On top of everything everyone else said, it also sounds a bit... what's the word I'm looking for here... cultish, maybe? Imagine Objectivists with a forum asking "What's the most Objective toothbrush?" or "How should an Objectivist deal with situation X?" Or "How should a Scientologist deal with situation X?" The connotation here is cult like - "How should my in-group, which you and I are a part of but everyone else out there isn't part of, deal with situation X?"
This doesn't mean using the words "rational" or "rationalist" in this fashion is actually cult like, but it's good general policy to avoid looking like a cult - especially when the cost is low.
Well, if a word is overused in titles and a one-line guide can convince you not to use it, the problem of overuse has just avoided being increased...