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1%% This is how the quote formatting is suppose to look: One indent, then dialog, then two indents, then the source. Don't mess with it.
2->''"But when you look at what Franchise/SherlockHolmes does - you can't go out and do it at home. Sherlock Holmes is not really operating by any sort of reproducible method. He is operating by magically finding the right clues and carrying out magically correct complicated chains of deduction. Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that reading Sherlock Holmes does not inspire you to go and do likewise. Holmes is a mutant superhero. And even if you did try to imitate him, it would never work in real life."''
3-->-- Creator/EliezerYudkowsky, on [[http://lesswrong.com/lw/3m/rationalist_fiction/ Rationalist Fiction.]]
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5A Rational Fic is one which makes a deliberate effort to reward a reader's thinking. It's the opposite of BellisariosMaxim. The WorldBuilding is intended to stand up to careful thought; the plot is driven by characters or circumstances that themselves are part of the story, the heroes generally think clearly (in ways the reader can follow), and a clever reader can deduce what's hidden or what's coming. Very often, the fic is also intended to teach the reader something about rationality.
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7One of the first authors to use aspects of rational thinking and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-classical_logic non-Aristotelian logic]] as the basis of their world-building and character interactions was Creator/AEVanVogt, specifically in the ''Null-A'' series. In its modern form, the genre was popularised by ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', so most self-described "rational" stories are posted online. Because of this, the name uses Fic instead of fiction; some fans use the terms Rational Fiction, Rationalist Fic, and Rationalist Fiction interchangeably, though most use Fiction for published/non-derivative works, and Rationalist for works that not only aim for realistic intelligence, but try to teach principles of rationality. A sizeable community of people who write or enjoy this type of fiction [[https://www.reddit.com/r/rational exists]] on {{Website/Reddit}}.
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9The genre can in some respects be thought of as a type of ScienceFiction in which the sciences are things like game theory, bayesian reasoning, cognitive psychology, behavioral economics, social choice theory, information theory, computation, complexity, epistemics, memetics, and other fields that relate to the way we form beliefs, make decisions, or solve problems in general.
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11Also see CompetencePorn, which might be the reason why rational fics are popular. Might devolve into a PhilosophicalParable, if rationality as an ideology or philosophy is illustrated via narrative means.
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13Also note that the occasional appearance of a trope to avoid doesn't prevent the work from being Rational Fic, if it conforms to most of the other tropes.
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15!!No examples, please. [[Administrivia/DefinitionOnlyPages This only defines the term.]]

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