The sophisticated design of a framework or worldview that uses the language and tools of rationality (calibration, probabilistic thinking, epistemic humility) not to seek truth, but to protect a core set of beliefs or identities. It's building an elaborate, self-consistent rational fortress where updates are only allowed in certain directions, and all counter-evidence is processed through defensive filters labeled "skepticism."
Example: "He crafted a rationality around his political tribalism. He used Bayesian terms to dismiss opposing studies ('low prior'), framed hypocrisy charges as 'whataboutism' to avoid engagement, and used 'steelmanning' only on his own side's weakest arguments. It was a formidable, internally consistent system crafted for defense, not discovery." Rationality Crafting
by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026
Get the Rationality Crafting mug.