An opposition between altruism and selfishness seems important to Yud. 23-year-old Yud said “I was pretty much entirely altruistic in terms of raw motivations” and his Pathfinder fic has a whole theology of selfishness. His protagonists have a deep longing to be world-historical figures and be admired by the world. Dreams of controlling and manipulating people to get what you want are woven into his community like mould spores in a condemned building.
Has anyone unpicked this? Is talking about selfishness and altrusm common in LessWrong like pretending to use Bayesian statistics?
Selfishness sounds like it might be his way of thinking about some of this (I don’t think he could allow himself to think “I am a fundraiser and pulp writer and married with no other achievements” but I think he knows he likes to be adored and control things).
When we get a proper history of this subculture, with names and dates and diagrams of the polycules and play parties and group homes, it is going to be wild.