Is there anything that you consider proven beyond any possibility of doubt by both empirical evidence and pure logic, and yet saying it triggers automatic stream of rationalizations in other people?
Hitler had a number of top-level skills, and we could learn (some) positive lessons from his example(s).
Eugenics would improve the human race (genepool).
Human “racial” groups may have differing average attributes (like IQ), and these may contribute to the explanation of historical outcomes of those groups.
(Perhaps these aren’t exactly topics that Less Wrong readers (in particular) would run away from. I was attempting to answer the question by riffing off Paul Graham’s idea of taboos. What is it “not appropriate” to talk about in ordinary society? Politeness might trigger the rationalization response...)
rlpowell, you are incorrect. You are spouting an untested theory that is repeated as fact by those with a vested interest in avoiding the harsh light of truth.
In actual fact, there is no problem with breaking someone’s arm in an MMA fight (see Mir vs. Sylvia in the UFC, for example). It’s also close to impossible to break someone’s neck (deliberately), despite what you may see in movies.
The “we’re too dangerous to fight” is an easy meme to propagate. But let me just ask you this: let’s just say, hypothetically, that your theory (“maximum damage” masters are “useless in MMA fights”) was false. How would you ever know? Assuming that someone did not yet have a belief about that proposition, what kind of evidence are you actually aware of, about whether the statement is true or false?