Some of the glossing over cultural differences did strike me as a bit naive (I maintain an American and Japanese anime fan are still very different), but the pi

Some of the glossing over cultural differences did strike me as a bit naive (I maintain an American and Japanese anime fan are still very different), but the piece as a whole is poignant and very well written. I don’t think there’s a “key point,” rather than an explanation of one facet of modern society and some synthesis as to why these online subcultures have developed as they have. Astral Codex Ten (on Substack) has a piece in this vein: “Epistemically Minor Leagues.” If you’re not familiar, Gwern (OP) doesn’t so much “argue” a key point but rather explore ideas and document various internet cultural artifacts and ideas. It’s quite the rabbit hole. But yeah, this piece has quite a bit of insight still in my opinion, despite some minor - not flaws, but weirdness let’s say. It’s exploratory, not argumentative.