Is there anywhere at all on the internet where you can call people on their irrationality without starting a flame war? The only difference I see with skeptic sites is that you can use the term "confirmation bias" without having to link to Wikipedia.
Phobia support sites? I dunno. But I will note that in my time on skeptic sites, and back when I still read Reason for S&Gs, you didn't even have to SAY irrational. You just had to SUGGEST that, hey! why don't we look into problem X from a skeptic/libertarian/whatever POV! and you'd have people leaping up in outrage, denying that it was a problem they had to address AT ALL!
Which, normal on the internet, yes, but still depressing to see.
There's a lot of overlap between skepticism and science fiction fandom, and I think both groups have some of the same issues, among which is a tendency to think that their members are Smarter Than the Average Bear. It's the "fans are slans" thing: we are using our intelligence to make a better world, and you irrational people are just bigoted against us because we're smarter than you!
And because prejudices of all sorts are considered to be irrational, as Plei says, the least implication that maybe bone-deep cultural biases come into play is resisted fiercely. If they're sexist, too, that means they lose their superiority over the sheeple, you see. Can't have that.
... I overstate, but not by much. I read a bunch of the comment threads about the Watson-Dawkins business, and it felt just like reading RaceFail.
"fans are slans"
What's a slan?
Also, is it just my noticing it, or is "double down" the current hottest analogy/metaphor/whatever?
"Fans are slans" is this old old saying from SF fandom: comes from a novel called, IIRC, "Slan". A slan is basically a higher-evolved human being. Superior.
And because prejudices of all sorts are considered to be irrational, as Plei says, the least implication that maybe bone-deep cultural biases come into play is resisted fiercely. If they're sexist, too, that means they lose their superiority over the sheeple, you see. Can't have that.
I can't argue with this. And I am very selective in which SF/skeptical/feminist sites I read, but I'm also very selective about which political blogs I read, and which parenting blogs, and which cooking blogs, and for the same reasons. Every interest group has its own special flavors of unexamined privilege and drama.
It's the "fans are slans" thing
I kind of love Consuela. Slan is a novel by A.E. Van Vogt about the next level of human evolution. Slans are, of course, hunted and unappreciated by normals and must hide their abilities to survive.
I have a first edition of
Slan.
I just asked my boss if I could leave at 4, because my iTunes didn't work last night and that meant I have to watch HP 5 and 6 tonight, so I can watch 7.1 tomorrow and be ready for 7.2 tomorrow night. He said yes, which I was not expecting. Woo Hoo!
One of the early proponents of the "fans are slans" movement was Claude Degler, a former mental patient who formed the Cosmic Circle to unite fans and achieve Cosmic Consciousness. The evolved humans, the Cosmen, would help guide mankind to a glorious future. (Degler also hitchhiked across the country visiting fans. Often when he left, some of the gems of the fans' collections seemed to leave with him.)
Jack Speer, a contemporary fan, mailed postcards to Degler from everywhere he stopped on a cross-country trip. They each said: "I have a cosmic mind. Now what do I do?" I often think this when I'm at a loss as to what to do next.
