As a newcomer who has never been to a meetup—an outsider—I assure you that you are right. It seems surprisingly cultish. I say “surprisingly” because I would never have imagined that LWers would attempt to ape religion and chain awe at the numinous to a specific set of rituals. I suppose in retrospect there is ample precedent, because certainly the Twelve Virtues and the litanies are pseudo-religious (presumably to lend them gravity), but… yipes!
There are parts of our brains that respond very strongly to ritual. As long as they’re still there, we might as well use them to impart knowledge that’s actually true. Also, if we can’t figure out how to supplant religious rituals with new rituals that provide the same social function but without the false beliefs attached, then people will always see a need for religion in their lives.
Edit: Kaj_Sotala wrote a comment expounding the second point above.
As a newcomer who has never been to a meetup—an outsider—I assure you that you are right. It seems surprisingly cultish. I say “surprisingly” because I would never have imagined that LWers would attempt to ape religion and chain awe at the numinous to a specific set of rituals. I suppose in retrospect there is ample precedent, because certainly the Twelve Virtues and the litanies are pseudo-religious (presumably to lend them gravity), but… yipes!
There are parts of our brains that respond very strongly to ritual. As long as they’re still there, we might as well use them to impart knowledge that’s actually true. Also, if we can’t figure out how to supplant religious rituals with new rituals that provide the same social function but without the false beliefs attached, then people will always see a need for religion in their lives.
Edit: Kaj_Sotala wrote a comment expounding the second point above.