It seems there is dissatisfaction with the term “rationalist”. I’ve listed some below.
What word should rationalists use to identify themselves and have others identify them?
Note that rationalist will be an option so people can show a preference for the status quo.
Yudkowsky: https://twitter.com/esyudkowsky/status/1424491292189364224?s=21
Tyler Cowen: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nsSmscB5CuSQX9arn/responses-to-tyler-cowen-on-rationality
[Question] What should rationalists call themselves?
For me, the dissatisfaction is with the imprecise clustering of people and ideas, not with the name, and a bit of dark-arts worry that anyone thinks a name is necessary/important/helpful.
Can you define the group that you’re trying to name (or asking to name themselves)? I share some attributes and enjoy discussions and learning about related topics, but it’s not a big part of my identity, and almost none of my social activities relate to this group.
Also, please describe the purpose of the name—is it to intimidate (or gain respect/status from, if you prefer) the mehumes, so they’ll take you more seriously? Is it to attract neophytes to the group? What functions does “rationalist” not serve, and why expect a different self-selected label to work any better?
Perhaps this should be done via survey, with questions like:
Are you an empiricist?
rationalists
sanepunks
ht https://twitter.com/esyudkowsky/status/1424491292189364224?s=21
irrationalists