It may just be me, but it seems like Less Wrong and TV Tropes could productively merge their output, perhaps even into the same site.
They both seek to discuss interesting patterns in human thought and behavior, for the purpose of not only entertaining the reader but also giving them the ability to make more useful predictions and analyses. Though one focuses on fictional worlds while the other focuses on the real world, people at both sites would agree that there is a significant amount of overlap between these two models, to the point where it’s often productive and enlightening to study one through indirect analysis of the other.
Plus, they both have a surfeit of snappy meme names, cross-linking, and internal culture.
I’ve sometimes pondered the bizarrely high level of rationality on TV Tropes, and my guess is that it has something to do with people zooming in, thinking about details, trying to find the obvious consequences and moral implications that no one else sees, thinking in “near mode” about things that would usually be considered in “far mode”, and possibly just being made up of nerds.
It may just be me, but it seems like Less Wrong and TV Tropes could productively merge their output, perhaps even into the same site.
They both seek to discuss interesting patterns in human thought and behavior, for the purpose of not only entertaining the reader but also giving them the ability to make more useful predictions and analyses. Though one focuses on fictional worlds while the other focuses on the real world, people at both sites would agree that there is a significant amount of overlap between these two models, to the point where it’s often productive and enlightening to study one through indirect analysis of the other.
Plus, they both have a surfeit of snappy meme names, cross-linking, and internal culture.
I’ve sometimes pondered the bizarrely high level of rationality on TV Tropes, and my guess is that it has something to do with people zooming in, thinking about details, trying to find the obvious consequences and moral implications that no one else sees, thinking in “near mode” about things that would usually be considered in “far mode”, and possibly just being made up of nerds.
Cases in point:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StrawVulcan
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasticAesop