HI guys! I maybe totally misinterpreting the LessWrong community and Rationalist movements in general but it seems to me that rituals and holidays are exactly just that: Rituals and HolyDays. Whatever dress you put on them, with time they become religious crutches for people who need help or feel insecure. For what I understand of it it feels New Age-i/Scientology-i. Not that I have any problem with any of these. People believe in whatever they want to believe in. If it makes anyone happy it already made a step towards a better world, a better community (...
Thank you for the link, the article was very informative. You obviously have considered this type of objections before and found it to be low risk/ acceptable. Maybe I should leave the topic here but I still feel against it. I also feel you slightly downplayed the possible long term outcomes in your article.
By all means I do agree with the utility of rituals by helping the community to become coherent, induce otherwise possibly difficult changes in its members and provide support - at the beginning. When all participants feel strongly about its message a... (read more)