Reflections on Rat Fest ’25
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Science writer John Horgan wrote his own article about his experience at Rat Fest:
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·#2058··Criticism
Chipkin urges me to come to Rat (short for rationalism) Fest…
It’s technically true that the “Rat” part of Rat Fest is short for ‘rationalism’, but I’ve always considered it to be short for Crit Rat, ie Critical Rationalism. This matters because it’s not a rationalist conference, neither in the Less Wrong sense nor in the rationalism vs empiricism sense.
This distinction matters because later on, Horgan writes:
Why do self-proclaimed rationalists often seem so wacky?
And he means the attendees of Rat Fest. But they’re not rationalists!