I think the rationalists have failed to humanize themselves. They let their thinkpieces define them entirely, but a studiously considered think piece is a narrow view into a person. If rationalists were more publicly vulnerable, people might find them more publicly relatable.
Scott Aaronson is probably the most publicly-vulnerable academic I've ever found, at least outside of authors who write memoirs about childhood trauma. I think a lot of other prominent rationalists also put a lot of vulnerability out there.
Right, but him doing so is the very context of this discussion, which is why I mentioned him in particular. Scott Alexander is more well-known as a rationalist and also (IMO) displays a lot of vulnerability in his writing.
