Reflections on Rat Fest ’25

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Dennis HackethalOP·#2042·1y

Science writer John Horgan wrote his own article about his experience at Rat Fest:

johnhorgan.org

My Weekend at “Rat Fest” — John Horgan (The Science Writer)

HOBOKEN, OCTOBER 4, 2025. “It feels a little cult-y.” That’s how I respond when Logan Chipkin asks what I think of “Rat Fest.” Let me back up a bit: Last summer, I get an email from someone named Logan Chipkin, who founded something called the Conjecture Institute . He wants my permission to use

Criticized14*

Dennis HackethalOP·#2057·1y·Criticism

Not at all, Deutsch replies. We are fallible, he reminds me, that means we make mistakes. Civilizations have taken wrong turns in the past and collapsed, that can happen again. But Deutsch thinks things will work out. American scientists can come to Europe to continue their research, and maybe not all the research should continue.

I think this passage misses a key epistemological insight Deutsch shared in response to Horgan’s worries about Trump: a society that’s free to make mistakes sometimes makes bigger mistakes than one that isn’t. What matters is that the society retains the ability to correct those mistakes (which ours does retain).