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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 4, 2024

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I'm surprised at how few insults were aimed at you. There were only a few and they were at least somewhat disguised.
Overall, I think you're wasting your time. You assume rationalists are good at/focused on thinking rationally because they say they are. In reality, the thick jargon, the nerdy topics and all the other pretenses are nothing but a way to signal "I'm a part of this tribe". Similarly to the rainbow flag and saying "diversity" at least once every 5 sentences for progressives.
But if you're having fun, more power to you!