Rationality’s Cult-Formation Trap

Canonical texts like the Sequences implicitly promise elite status, life-hacking, and world-saving purpose, attracting young seekers who want authority to assign roles and reshape selves. In practice, the broader community is mundane, but this selection effect funnels some into high-demand offshoots that supply the missing certainty and mission. Guardrails and mentoring—not just better arguments—are needed in self-improvement movements with existential stakes. — Tech-adjacent epistemic communities influencing AI and policy must design community governance to prevent charismatic spinoffs that erode trust and safety culture.