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Randy_M comments on Open thread for December 24-31, 2013 - Less Wrong Discussion

4 Post author: NancyLebovitz 24 December 2013 08:58AM

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Comment author: Randy_M 27 December 2013 04:59:10PM *  4 points [-]

hmm, I'm going to try to calilbrate my view of the community here by guessing the reasons this is currently at -5 karma:

45% Misusing 'rational' for something that isn't particularly about rationality

40% Overly american-centric linkage with patriotism, freedom, and rationality leading to percieved contradictions

10% Contrarian sticking up for Christians for the unsubstantianted hypocrisy charge

5% Past quarrels bleeding over

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 28 December 2013 01:07:15PM *  5 points [-]

To me the most plausible explanation of why anyone would write that comment is trolling. I can't quite imagine someone writing it using the same words for different reasons.

As a comparison, here is a (fictional) comment I could even upvote if I saw it in a Group Rationality Diary:

My father and I decided to create a secular version of Christmas. We love to exchange gifts, but we are not religious, so we tried to remove as much of the religious context as possible. We even moved the date to Dec 31st, as a symbol of ending the old year and a hopeful beginning of a new one. We keep the tree, and we decorate it with red, white and blue ribbons, as a symbol of freedom.

It seems similar, and here are the removed parts:

Rationalismas; hypocrisy or talk of the baby Jesus; Very secular

Obviously, they are applause lights. Just not really appealing ones; and too concentrated. Either someone is really clueless, or more likely just mocking; both of these options deserve a downvote.

The American patriotism thing is not a problem per se; it is just another evidence for trolling. If it was the only suspicious thing in the comment, I would just skip it as a cultural difference.

Comment author: [deleted] 31 December 2013 01:11:59AM 0 points [-]

The American patriotism thing is not a problem per se; it is just another evidence for trolling. If it was the only suspicious thing in the comment, I would just skip it as a cultural difference.

Also, there's a possible reason to use those three colours to symbolise freedom that has little to do with American patriotism. (Not that it's particularly better.)