Re: pushback. I don’t find it frightening, but it’s often not to my taste. I like writers who make everything as simple as possible but no simpler—folks like Paul Graham and Richard Feynman.
A relevant idea is the forum/community axis: a forum is a place where people come to discuss things, whereas a community has less turnover and a stronger culture. I suspect the evolutionary role of religion is to facilitate superorganism formation. Strengthened in-group identity brings pros like better group coordination, public goods provision, and shared vocabulary. But you pay a price in terms of decreased intellectual diversity. (Not saying this price shouldn’t be paid—but it is a price.) At some level, rationalist bashing of academia (which has its own set of sacred symbols; see: school anthems, cap & gown, etc.) plays a role similar to the Ottomans’ conversion of Constantinople’s cathedral in to a mosque after they captured the city.
Re: pushback. I don’t find it frightening, but it’s often not to my taste. I like writers who make everything as simple as possible but no simpler—folks like Paul Graham and Richard Feynman.
A relevant idea is the forum/community axis: a forum is a place where people come to discuss things, whereas a community has less turnover and a stronger culture. I suspect the evolutionary role of religion is to facilitate superorganism formation. Strengthened in-group identity brings pros like better group coordination, public goods provision, and shared vocabulary. But you pay a price in terms of decreased intellectual diversity. (Not saying this price shouldn’t be paid—but it is a price.) At some level, rationalist bashing of academia (which has its own set of sacred symbols; see: school anthems, cap & gown, etc.) plays a role similar to the Ottomans’ conversion of Constantinople’s cathedral in to a mosque after they captured the city.