I think the problem with not recognizing speedrunning is less the absurdity heuristic and more just having the wrong information? There are many things that are not “respectable” or “mainstream” but are taken very seriously (many video games, fanfiction, editing certain Wikipedia pages, etc. etc.). My sense is that it’s quite possible for an outsider to assess this by checking out fan communities and the like.
I think the problem with not recognizing speedrunning is less the absurdity heuristic and more just having the wrong information? There are many things that are not “respectable” or “mainstream” but are taken very seriously (many video games, fanfiction, editing certain Wikipedia pages, etc. etc.). My sense is that it’s quite possible for an outsider to assess this by checking out fan communities and the like.