> Here is where I break ranks with the rationalists: all the talk about “hit jobs” is silly and conspiratorial. I don't think the "hit job" conspiracy theories

> Here is where I break ranks with the rationalists: all the talk about “hit jobs” is silly and conspiratorial. I don't think the "hit job" conspiracy theories are silly, I think they're a big deal. The conspiracy theorizing in the rationalist community right now is what worries me about the way that they're trending. Remember that this is a community that has a great deal to say about the downside of cognitive biases on their entire thought process, and specifically identifies conspiracies and tribalism as biases that can distort our perceptions. Yet the community seems to increasingly be awash in exactly the biases that they identify as most toxic. This is not some small concern, it's a problem that undermines the entire project. And while I agree that "rationalists" aren't some sort of Illuminati that controls Silicon Valley, they've certainly got enough of a following that a "Scientology" level culthood could emerge out of the group if they allow this to happen. I think that there is a dark timeline where that could really happen, and it would be a lousy outcome, especially since I have friends and colleagues who are attracted to this community. TL;DR: I don't know if the NYT is the problem here, but I wish the community would spend more time thinking about its own tendency to identify conspiracy theories and close ranks against the "outgroup" and put serious thought into how they're going to fight this. Because this is antithetical to the purpose of the entire project.