I will admit first off, the only reason I learned that rationalism is a think, is because of rational fan fiction. HP:MoR, MLP:FiR, some fucking twillight fanfic, it has struck a bias in me; that "rationalists" are a bunch of overanalytic hacks who want to apply basic scientific knowledge to magical settings, while thinking they're some kind of political power-player.
but those are fanfic-writers, and does not make up what rationalism is supposed to be. Then there's rationalwiki, supposedly a base for rational thought, that got turned into the political antithesis of it's supposed enemy, conservapedia.and since then, I've seen a few other so-called rationalist forums, where what I've seen seems to be another case of "overanalyze everything," and I got the same damn vibe I got from the fanfic-writers. so while this board is still fresh and filled with people that are just sitting here gawking at the emptiness, I want to ask, what the fuck is rationalism? is it anything over than gratuitous overanalyzing everything, and apply scientific theories to it?
what is the point?