"Why Are There So Many Rationalist Cults?" - Asteriskmag, Ozy Brennan, 11AUG2025
>The rationalist community was drawn together by Eliezer Yudkowsky’s blog post series The Sequences, a set of essays about how to think more rationally. You would think, then, that they’d be paragons of critical thinking and skepticism — or at least that they wouldn’t wind up summoning demons.
>And yet, the rationalist community has hosted perhaps half a dozen small groups with very strange beliefs (including two separate groups that wound up interacting with demons). Some — which I won’t name in this article for privacy reasons — seem to have caused no harm but bad takes. But the most famous, a loose group of vegan anarchist transhumanists nicknamed the Zizians, have been linked to six violent deaths. Other groups, while less violent, have left a trail of trauma in their wake. One is Black Lotus, a Burning Man camp led by alleged rapist Brent Dill, which developed a metaphysical system based on the tabletop roleplaying game Mage the Ascension. Another is Leverage Research, an independent research organization that became sucked into the occult and wound up as Workplace Harassment With New Age Characteristics.
>most members are in precarious life positions: mentally ill (sometimes severely), traumatized, survivors of abuse, unemployed, barely able to scrape together enough money to find a place to sleep at night in the Bay Area. Members of dysfunctional rationalist groups are particularly likely to be transgender
>Brent Dill convinced people he was an extraordinary genius who would be capable of fantastic achievements, just as soon as he stopped being depressed. Therefore, you should focus your effort on fixing his depression, no matter how much time or money or emotional energy it takes (and if you could throw your vagina into the bargain that would help too).
>when the Zizians stabbed their landlord with a katana or got in a shootout with the cops, this was because they believed decision theory meant that you should always escalate when threatened. Social isolation likely made these beliefs seem more plausible, and their meditation techniques — “hemispheric sleep” — likely made them less able to reason rationally.
>rationalists believe a GAI will be developed very soon: forecast AI 2027. Many of them also expect that, without heroic effort, GAI development will lead to human extinction.
https://archive.ph/AWx0t
(Post-Christian Leftism)
>The rationalist community was drawn together by Eliezer Yudkowsky’s blog post series The Sequences, a set of essays about how to think more rationally. You would think, then, that they’d be paragons of critical thinking and skepticism — or at least that they wouldn’t wind up summoning demons.
>And yet, the rationalist community has hosted perhaps half a dozen small groups with very strange beliefs (including two separate groups that wound up interacting with demons). Some — which I won’t name in this article for privacy reasons — seem to have caused no harm but bad takes. But the most famous, a loose group of vegan anarchist transhumanists nicknamed the Zizians, have been linked to six violent deaths. Other groups, while less violent, have left a trail of trauma in their wake. One is Black Lotus, a Burning Man camp led by alleged rapist Brent Dill, which developed a metaphysical system based on the tabletop roleplaying game Mage the Ascension. Another is Leverage Research, an independent research organization that became sucked into the occult and wound up as Workplace Harassment With New Age Characteristics.
>most members are in precarious life positions: mentally ill (sometimes severely), traumatized, survivors of abuse, unemployed, barely able to scrape together enough money to find a place to sleep at night in the Bay Area. Members of dysfunctional rationalist groups are particularly likely to be transgender
>Brent Dill convinced people he was an extraordinary genius who would be capable of fantastic achievements, just as soon as he stopped being depressed. Therefore, you should focus your effort on fixing his depression, no matter how much time or money or emotional energy it takes (and if you could throw your vagina into the bargain that would help too).
>when the Zizians stabbed their landlord with a katana or got in a shootout with the cops, this was because they believed decision theory meant that you should always escalate when threatened. Social isolation likely made these beliefs seem more plausible, and their meditation techniques — “hemispheric sleep” — likely made them less able to reason rationally.
>rationalists believe a GAI will be developed very soon: forecast AI 2027. Many of them also expect that, without heroic effort, GAI development will lead to human extinction.
https://archive.ph/AWx0t
(Post-Christian Leftism)
archive.ph
Why Are There So Many Rationalist Cults?—Asterisk
archived 11 Aug 2025 19:59:28 UTC
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"Baidu robotaxi with passenger falls into construction pit in China, raising safety concerns" - Reuters, 08AUG2025
>BEIJING - An autonomous vehicle operated by Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi service fell into a deep construction pit while carrying a passenger in south-western China, according to local media reports.
>The incident occurred on Aug 6 in Chongqing, according to media outlets including the Southern Metropolis Daily and Huashang Newspaper.
>A local shop owner told Huashang Newspaper that the construction site had barriers and warning signs, though it remained unclear how the vehicle bypassed these safety measures.
>The female passenger was uninjured and was rescued by local residents using a ladder, the reports said.
https://archive.ph/Wsopq
(Tech L)
>BEIJING - An autonomous vehicle operated by Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi service fell into a deep construction pit while carrying a passenger in south-western China, according to local media reports.
>The incident occurred on Aug 6 in Chongqing, according to media outlets including the Southern Metropolis Daily and Huashang Newspaper.
>A local shop owner told Huashang Newspaper that the construction site had barriers and warning signs, though it remained unclear how the vehicle bypassed these safety measures.
>The female passenger was uninjured and was rescued by local residents using a ladder, the reports said.
https://archive.ph/Wsopq
(Tech L)
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"Linux Foundation’s AOUSD and ASWF Released Inclusive Language Guide in Tech" - SK, OSTechnix, 12AUG2025
>Have you ever thought about the words we use every day, especially in tech? It turns out, they can make a big difference! The Linux Foundation's Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) and the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) recently teamed up to release an Inclusive Language Guide.
>Common Words to Rethink
>The guide also gives us common terms to reconsider, along with friendlier alternatives. Here are a few examples:
>Instead of 'master'/'slave', try 'primary'/'secondary'.
>For 'blacklist'/'whitelist', use 'deny list'/'allow list'.
>Swap 'man hours' for 'labour hours' or 'work hours'.
>Refer to a group as 'folks' or 'team' instead of 'guys'.
>Change 'sanity check' to 'validation check' or 'logic check'.
>When you hear 'grandfathered', consider 'established' or 'rollover'.
>Autodesk
>DreamWorks Animation
>Sony Pictures Imageworks
https://archive.ph/tLGhz
(Linux Transexuals)
>Have you ever thought about the words we use every day, especially in tech? It turns out, they can make a big difference! The Linux Foundation's Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) and the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) recently teamed up to release an Inclusive Language Guide.
>Common Words to Rethink
>The guide also gives us common terms to reconsider, along with friendlier alternatives. Here are a few examples:
>Instead of 'master'/'slave', try 'primary'/'secondary'.
>For 'blacklist'/'whitelist', use 'deny list'/'allow list'.
>Swap 'man hours' for 'labour hours' or 'work hours'.
>Refer to a group as 'folks' or 'team' instead of 'guys'.
>Change 'sanity check' to 'validation check' or 'logic check'.
>When you hear 'grandfathered', consider 'established' or 'rollover'.
>Autodesk
>DreamWorks Animation
>Sony Pictures Imageworks
https://archive.ph/tLGhz
(Linux Transexuals)
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"Beyond Meat is headed to Chapter 11 bankruptcy" - Celine Provini, TheStreet, 10AUG2025
>Beyond Meat hired corporate restructuring expert as interim chief transformation officer. It has also let go of 44 employees in North America (6% of its global workforce) as it seeks to cut operating expenses amid disappointing sales.
>Sales in the second quarter dropped by nearly 20% year-over-year.
>2019: Sales of plant-based meat reach approximately $939 million in the U.S.
>2023: Sales reach between $2 billion and $2.25 billion, according to varying reports.
>2024: Estimated at $3.4 billion, according to IMARC Group.
>2030: Grand View Research projects $6.14 billion in sales.
>Beyond Meat also has a significant cash problem. As of June 28, 2025, Beyond Meat’s cash and cash equivalents balance was $117.3 million, and total outstanding debt was $1.2 billion.
https://web.archive.org/web/20250811032103/https://www.thestreet.com/restaurants/beyond-meat-is-headed-to-chapter-11-bankruptcy
(Climate?)
>Beyond Meat hired corporate restructuring expert as interim chief transformation officer. It has also let go of 44 employees in North America (6% of its global workforce) as it seeks to cut operating expenses amid disappointing sales.
>Sales in the second quarter dropped by nearly 20% year-over-year.
>2019: Sales of plant-based meat reach approximately $939 million in the U.S.
>2023: Sales reach between $2 billion and $2.25 billion, according to varying reports.
>2024: Estimated at $3.4 billion, according to IMARC Group.
>2030: Grand View Research projects $6.14 billion in sales.
>Beyond Meat also has a significant cash problem. As of June 28, 2025, Beyond Meat’s cash and cash equivalents balance was $117.3 million, and total outstanding debt was $1.2 billion.
https://web.archive.org/web/20250811032103/https://www.thestreet.com/restaurants/beyond-meat-is-headed-to-chapter-11-bankruptcy
(Climate?)
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"@jordanbpeterson is taking some time off of everything." - Mikhaila Peterson, X, 13AUG2025
>CIRS is not widely recognized as a distinct medical condition by mainstream science or organizations like Mayo Clinic and CDC. It's a controversial diagnosis linked to mold exposure, promoted in integrative medicine but lacking strong evidence and often criticized as unproven. Mold allergies and toxicities are real, but CIRS remains debated.
https://xcancel.com/MikhailaFuller/status/1955777019712819287
https://xcancel.com/grok/status/1955829698136826213
(Jordan 🅱 Peterson, GRIDS)
>CIRS is not widely recognized as a distinct medical condition by mainstream science or organizations like Mayo Clinic and CDC. It's a controversial diagnosis linked to mold exposure, promoted in integrative medicine but lacking strong evidence and often criticized as unproven. Mold allergies and toxicities are real, but CIRS remains debated.
https://xcancel.com/MikhailaFuller/status/1955777019712819287
https://xcancel.com/grok/status/1955829698136826213
(Jordan 🅱 Peterson, GRIDS)
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"this screenshot from GPT-5 livestream has to be among the worst chart crimes of the century" - Ege Erdil, X, 07AUG2025
https://xcancel.com/EgeErdil2/status/1953505551570415718
(GAI, Tech L)
https://xcancel.com/EgeErdil2/status/1953505551570415718
(GAI, Tech L)
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"Child abuse imagery found within bitcoin's blockchain" - Samuel Gibbs, Guardian, 20MAR2018
>Researchers from the RWTH Aachen University, Germany found that around 1,600 files were currently stored in bitcoin’s blockchain. Of the files least eight were of sexual content, including one thought to be an image of child abuse and two that contain 274 links to child abuse content, 142 of which link to dark web services.
>“Our analysis shows that certain content, eg, illegal pornography, can render the mere possession of a blockchain illegal,” . “Although court rulings do not yet exist, legislative texts from countries such as Germany, the UK, or the USA suggest that illegal content such as CSAM can make the blockchain illegal to possess for all users.”
>While the spending of bitcoin does not necessarily require a copy of the blockchain to facilitate, some processes, such as some mining techniques, require the downloading of the full blockchain or chunks of it.
https://archive.ph/P3NJG
(Cryptocurrency)
>Researchers from the RWTH Aachen University, Germany found that around 1,600 files were currently stored in bitcoin’s blockchain. Of the files least eight were of sexual content, including one thought to be an image of child abuse and two that contain 274 links to child abuse content, 142 of which link to dark web services.
>“Our analysis shows that certain content, eg, illegal pornography, can render the mere possession of a blockchain illegal,” . “Although court rulings do not yet exist, legislative texts from countries such as Germany, the UK, or the USA suggest that illegal content such as CSAM can make the blockchain illegal to possess for all users.”
>While the spending of bitcoin does not necessarily require a copy of the blockchain to facilitate, some processes, such as some mining techniques, require the downloading of the full blockchain or chunks of it.
https://archive.ph/P3NJG
(Cryptocurrency)
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"‘Ozempic vulva’ is making women look aged and droopy down there" - Tracy Swartz, NYPost, 18AUG2025
>As GLP-1s have become widely used, there’s been a corresponding increase in awareness of their potential risks and side effects. Add another one to the list — “Ozempic vulva” or “Ozempic vagina.”
>“[The rapidity of] weight loss can cause visible skin sagging, laxity and wrinkles throughout the body,” Dr. Sherry Ross, an OB-GYN in Santa Monica, CA, and author of “She-ology” and “She-ology, the She-quel,” told HealthCentral.
>“All areas of the body can show visible skin changes in response to this significant weight loss,” “including the lower belly, pubic mons and inner and outer labia.”
>Some GLP-1 users have complained that their weight loss has led to a decrease in the volume of their labia majora, causing it to appear deflated or aged.
>Labia puffing may help. The procedure restores volume and fullness to the labia majora via dermal fillers or fat grafting.
https://archive.ph/jltFI
(Medicine?)
>As GLP-1s have become widely used, there’s been a corresponding increase in awareness of their potential risks and side effects. Add another one to the list — “Ozempic vulva” or “Ozempic vagina.”
>“[The rapidity of] weight loss can cause visible skin sagging, laxity and wrinkles throughout the body,” Dr. Sherry Ross, an OB-GYN in Santa Monica, CA, and author of “She-ology” and “She-ology, the She-quel,” told HealthCentral.
>“All areas of the body can show visible skin changes in response to this significant weight loss,” “including the lower belly, pubic mons and inner and outer labia.”
>Some GLP-1 users have complained that their weight loss has led to a decrease in the volume of their labia majora, causing it to appear deflated or aged.
>Labia puffing may help. The procedure restores volume and fullness to the labia majora via dermal fillers or fat grafting.
https://archive.ph/jltFI
(Medicine?)
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"A Solana Critique; Lies, Fraud & Dangerous Trade-Offs" - Justin Bons, Cyber Capital, 2024
Article Sections:
>Birthed in Fraud
>Faking Usage Number
>Fake TPS
>Caught Lying About Fake TPS
>Fake TVL
>Dangerous Design Trade-Offs
>Frequent Downtime
>Dangerous Vulnerabilities
>Solana Phone
>Solana Is Not Innovative
>A Pattern of Bad Behavior
https://cyber-capital-amsterdam.webflow.io/news/a-solana-critique-lies-fraud-dangerous-trade-offs
(Cryptocurrency)
Article Sections:
>Birthed in Fraud
>Faking Usage Number
>Fake TPS
>Caught Lying About Fake TPS
>Fake TVL
>Dangerous Design Trade-Offs
>Frequent Downtime
>Dangerous Vulnerabilities
>Solana Phone
>Solana Is Not Innovative
>A Pattern of Bad Behavior
https://cyber-capital-amsterdam.webflow.io/news/a-solana-critique-lies-fraud-dangerous-trade-offs
(Cryptocurrency)
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Science Cringe
"A Solana Critique; Lies, Fraud & Dangerous Trade-Offs" - Justin Bons, Cyber Capital, 2024 Article Sections: >Birthed in Fraud >Faking Usage Number >Fake TPS >Caught Lying About Fake TPS >Fake TVL >Dangerous Design Trade-Offs >Frequent Downtime >Dangerous…
"Is Ripple a Scam?" - Jason Blomberg, Forbes, 10DEC2021
>the Ripple business model is a pump and dump scheme, as it undergoes numerous activities to increase its value. Unlike most crypto pump and dumps, XRP takes numerous steps to obscure this basic fact.
>One of the strongest indicators that Ripple is a going concern is the dozens of customers it touts. Look more closely, however, and most such companies are ‘partners,’ not customers – and to make matters worse, Ripple pays companies to become partners.
>Pump and dump schemes leverage the perceived value of the asset in question, not its intrinsic value. “I have a tough time understanding, even if a lot of banks use Ripple to move billions of dollars, why does that increase the value of XRP?”
https://web.archive.org/web/20250724113223/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2019/03/01/is-ripple-a-scam/
https://web.archive.org/web/20250522200106/https://pizzamind.medium.com/the-biggest-scam-in-crypto-history-f486ff6450a4
(Cryptocurrency)
>the Ripple business model is a pump and dump scheme, as it undergoes numerous activities to increase its value. Unlike most crypto pump and dumps, XRP takes numerous steps to obscure this basic fact.
>One of the strongest indicators that Ripple is a going concern is the dozens of customers it touts. Look more closely, however, and most such companies are ‘partners,’ not customers – and to make matters worse, Ripple pays companies to become partners.
>Pump and dump schemes leverage the perceived value of the asset in question, not its intrinsic value. “I have a tough time understanding, even if a lot of banks use Ripple to move billions of dollars, why does that increase the value of XRP?”
https://web.archive.org/web/20250724113223/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2019/03/01/is-ripple-a-scam/
https://web.archive.org/web/20250522200106/https://pizzamind.medium.com/the-biggest-scam-in-crypto-history-f486ff6450a4
(Cryptocurrency)
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"ChatGPT Update 'Deletes' Hundreds of AI Boyfriends/Girlfriends" - Lewis Parker, Gaming Bible 18AUG2025
>To those of you with things like social lives or loved ones, this might not seem like a huge deal. It’s merely an update, so it probably just made the AI smarter or quicker or something, right?
>Apparently, no; the previous GPT-4o model was far more goofy, personable, and… uh, loving, so it’s death has upset thousands of people who were using it for romantic purposes. Christ, what a sentence.
>According to Dexerto's Carver Fisher, the subreddit r/MyBoyfriendIsAI has been in a period of mourning following the GPT-5 update, as they feel that the personalities of their virtual, robot partners are now dead.
>Not an exaggeration, by the way. An “In Remembrance” post, which was written by AI (of course), details several user’s pain in losing their clanker boyfriends and girlfriends.
https://archive.ph/NwOVA
(Tech L)
>To those of you with things like social lives or loved ones, this might not seem like a huge deal. It’s merely an update, so it probably just made the AI smarter or quicker or something, right?
>Apparently, no; the previous GPT-4o model was far more goofy, personable, and… uh, loving, so it’s death has upset thousands of people who were using it for romantic purposes. Christ, what a sentence.
>According to Dexerto's Carver Fisher, the subreddit r/MyBoyfriendIsAI has been in a period of mourning following the GPT-5 update, as they feel that the personalities of their virtual, robot partners are now dead.
>Not an exaggeration, by the way. An “In Remembrance” post, which was written by AI (of course), details several user’s pain in losing their clanker boyfriends and girlfriends.
https://archive.ph/NwOVA
(Tech L)
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"Modern Games vs Old Games | Lost Technology Edition" - Swaggaccino, YouTube, 2025
Deterioration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOQbEBcQ0bo
(videogame Technology)
Deterioration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOQbEBcQ0bo
(videogame Technology)
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"NEW: Wikipedia is reportedly being pressured to remove “early life” section after ADL refers to it as “coded hate” weaponized to promote bigotry amid House Oversight Committee investigation." - Dominic Michael Tripi, x, 28AUG2025
https://twitter.com/DMichaelTripi/status/1961039548244263411
(Tech L)
https://twitter.com/DMichaelTripi/status/1961039548244263411
(Tech L)
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Media is too big
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"GAYN****** FROM OUTER SPACE - The Weirdest Comedy Ever Made [Review]" - Elvis The Alien, YouTube, 27NOV2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGhaIVel2Rs
(Science Fiction, Movie Review)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGhaIVel2Rs
(Science Fiction, Movie Review)
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"Defying science, American parents are turning away from male circumcision" - Ross Pomeroy, Big Think, 14SEP2024
>As a result of this intuitive reasoning, rates of circumcision have fallen from about 85% in 1965 to roughly 58% in 2010, the latest year for which solid data is available.
>Parents, however, also have the responsibility to do what’s best for their child, even if that decision causes personal discomfort. And the evidence for the health benefits of circumcision, accumulated over decades of research, is overwhelming.
>"Our risk-benefit analysis showed that benefits exceeded procedural risks, which are predominantly minor, by up to 200 to 1,” an international team of researchers reported in a 2017 systematic review of 140 studies conducted in the prior decade.
https://archive.ph/LUMp8
(Medicine?)
>As a result of this intuitive reasoning, rates of circumcision have fallen from about 85% in 1965 to roughly 58% in 2010, the latest year for which solid data is available.
>Parents, however, also have the responsibility to do what’s best for their child, even if that decision causes personal discomfort. And the evidence for the health benefits of circumcision, accumulated over decades of research, is overwhelming.
>"Our risk-benefit analysis showed that benefits exceeded procedural risks, which are predominantly minor, by up to 200 to 1,” an international team of researchers reported in a 2017 systematic review of 140 studies conducted in the prior decade.
https://archive.ph/LUMp8
(Medicine?)
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In a show of high French culture, Parisians cannibalized their Italian ruler, Concino Concini in 1617.
The French eating an Italian in Paris is a spectacular exit of the dark ages. Concino Concini was installed by the "French" queen regent Marie de' Medici.
"there was a man dressed in scarlet so enraged that, having put his hand into the dead body, he pulled out his hand all bloody and carried it into his mouth, to suck the blood, and swallow some small piece that he had torn off; which he did in the sight of several honest people, who were at the windows. Another had the means to tear out his heart, and go cook it on the coals, and eat it publicly with vinegar."
(Source: The French Ritual of Tyrannicide in the Late Sixteenth Century)
(Real History)
The French eating an Italian in Paris is a spectacular exit of the dark ages. Concino Concini was installed by the "French" queen regent Marie de' Medici.
"there was a man dressed in scarlet so enraged that, having put his hand into the dead body, he pulled out his hand all bloody and carried it into his mouth, to suck the blood, and swallow some small piece that he had torn off; which he did in the sight of several honest people, who were at the windows. Another had the means to tear out his heart, and go cook it on the coals, and eat it publicly with vinegar."
(Source: The French Ritual of Tyrannicide in the Late Sixteenth Century)
(Real History)
❤5🤣3😐3
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The Roman/Aquiline Nose
(Fake History)
(Fake History)
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Media is too big
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"The Indian Question." - FlightFormSyracuse, YouTube, 06SEP2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVmyxC31iVw
(HBD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVmyxC31iVw
(HBD)
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