This is a top-level comment on a post titled “Why so many “racists” at Manifest?”. That’s the topic of discussion, and the commenter seems to think that truth-seekingness is related to this topic. That’s what I’m challenging.

The Kolmogorov complicity essay presents numerous instances where individuals held accurate beliefs that their governments deemed heretical. The truthfulness of these beliefs is crucial to the argument. Certainly the essay would come across differently if the heretical beliefs were things like “the sky is green” or “this specific couple’s children are genetically dumb” (when they’re not). Therefore, I fail to understand how this essay pertains to our current discussion unless the contentious racist beliefs are also truthful, which the commenter has not substantiated.

Could you elaborate on why you’re so quick to associate racism with truthseekingness? You’re at least the third person to do so in this discussion and I think this demands an explanation. What’s the relationship between the two? Have you investigated racist assertions and concluded they are truthful?

You could say that lack of censorship, even of false ideas, is important for truth seeking in a community. But I don’t think you’d agree with a policy to allow everyone to say what they think is true without social consequences. Suppose a community of people are fixated on the intelligence of your children specifically, and they think that your children are genetically dumb. They post about this often on Twitter/X, and endorse eugenic policies to prevent future people from being like your children in particular. How would you feel about one of those people being a top billed guest to a conference? Would you approve of it because it demonstrates a strong commitment to truthseekingness?

It's concerning and requires clarification that people in this forum are so quick to link racism to truthseekingness. What is the basis for this connection? Have you evaluated racist assertions and found them to be truthful?

One might argue that a lack of censorship, even of false ideas, is crucial for a community committed to truth-seeking, and that people should be free to express themselves without social consequences. However, it's likely you would set limits. Imagine someone was inexplicably fixated on asserting that your children specifically were genetically inferior and should be deported, posting this repeatedly on Twitter/X. What benefit would the community gain by including them in events?

Maybe it's because EA had more money two years ago, not because EA is too left-leaning