Jimmy phrased it really well- the “lizardmen” don’t want to let anyone know precisely because they won’t be perceived by you as rational/moral humans as you would’ve without knowing, but rather “lizardmen”.
“how one might ever become justifiably confident a particular piece of dark matter really doesn’t exist or is as rare as you’d suspect it is”—as someone in a “lizardman” community myself (commented regarding my own experience), probably one of the only ways to know for sure is to join as a lizardman. Any other way, you’ll be inundated with misinformation, speculation, and even red herrings directed at distorting the “map” as much as possible for anyone trying to understand lizardmen.
For my part, after joining the lizardman community, I did realize the prevalance was about 100x what I’d previously assumed, just as OP predicted.
As for trading action for knowledge, I personally wouldn’t share my “membership” with anyone in my close social circle unless they gave me something equally taboo. I wouldn’t believe anyone’s commitment to not be upset, because often disgust or horror is a gut reaction and uncontrollable. Never mind trusting others to keep any secret without a counterweight.
Jimmy phrased it really well- the “lizardmen” don’t want to let anyone know precisely because they won’t be perceived by you as rational/moral humans as you would’ve without knowing, but rather “lizardmen”.
“how one might ever become justifiably confident a particular piece of dark matter really doesn’t exist or is as rare as you’d suspect it is”—as someone in a “lizardman” community myself (commented regarding my own experience), probably one of the only ways to know for sure is to join as a lizardman. Any other way, you’ll be inundated with misinformation, speculation, and even red herrings directed at distorting the “map” as much as possible for anyone trying to understand lizardmen.
For my part, after joining the lizardman community, I did realize the prevalance was about 100x what I’d previously assumed, just as OP predicted.
As for trading action for knowledge, I personally wouldn’t share my “membership” with anyone in my close social circle unless they gave me something equally taboo. I wouldn’t believe anyone’s commitment to not be upset, because often disgust or horror is a gut reaction and uncontrollable. Never mind trusting others to keep any secret without a counterweight.