I think LW-rationalism has an internal conflict: it includes virtue ethics (“speak the truth even if your voice trembles” etc) but also a strong dose of consequentialism (“optimize as hard as possible”). Sometimes in some people the second part wins. Maybe it depends on personality type, e.g. I’m too lazy to “optimize as hard as possible”, but it’s fun for me to say true things and follow other LW-rationalist virtues. For others it may be the opposite.
I think LW-rationalism has an internal conflict: it includes virtue ethics (“speak the truth even if your voice trembles” etc) but also a strong dose of consequentialism (“optimize as hard as possible”). Sometimes in some people the second part wins. Maybe it depends on personality type, e.g. I’m too lazy to “optimize as hard as possible”, but it’s fun for me to say true things and follow other LW-rationalist virtues. For others it may be the opposite.