The Value of Being a True Believer

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I think there's so much to be learned from asking this kind of meta question of things like astrology, which is not, does astrology work? But why does everyone like astrology? That's a very important question. And if you can't see what's valuable in astrology, then you are missing something. It may not be with astrologist's claim, but there's something there. Okay, it's also somewhat in tension with a lot of early rationalist writing, they basically use religion. I think a special Christianity kind of the go-to example of wrong thinking and like dogmatic thinking.

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What's the best way to teach rationality? How do you communicate rationalist principles to people who aren't already interested in thinking more clearly? What has COVID taught us about how people typically make decisions and think about problems? Where and how can the rationalist community improve? Does rationalism have anything to say about (for example) exercise, spirituality, art, or other parts of the human experience that aren't typically addressed by rationalists? What are some positive aspects of social media (especially Twitter)? What's going on with recent dating trends? Has dating gotten harder in recent years? How many people does it take to make a pencil? Is there a case to be made for anti-antinatalism?

Jacob is the only rationalist with an MBA. He writes Putanumonit.com and is famous for bringing the idea of decision matrices to the pages of the Economist and the New York Times. Jacob is Russian-Israeli and is currently living in Brooklyn with his wife and two guinea pigs. Follow him on Twitter at @yashkaf.

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