The rational rationalist's guide to rationally using "rational" in rational post titles

You mean an absolutely awesome alliteration?

I don't follow that logic at all. If recent posts using the word were bad, but previous posts were good, then the bad ones obviously aren't bad because of the word.

Word associations can change. "Rational" in a post title might have implied "strategic" before but not do so now.

"Rational Home Buying" discusses how knowing about and counteracting biases can have a huge impact on life outcomes when applied to buying a house (invest heavily in making big decisions well!). "Rational toothpaste," the fictional example, should really be "toothpaste suggestions?", which suggests another difference- it may be more appropriate to use the word "rational" when making a suggestion (especially about a process) than when asking for advice.

As well, when asking for advice, one of the big inputs you should provide is your objective, which "rational" seems like it's doing but isn't actually doing. "Tastiest toothpaste?" is very different from "cheapest toothpaste?" is very different from "highest tech toothpaste?".

Sorry, that isn't at all what I meant!

What I meant was that, in the context of the original post, suggesting that you will present counterexamples and then failing to present any was in keeping with the joke of the thread.

I'll try to rephrase my comment.

Gwern is apparently familiar with more quoting styles than I, because no style I'm familiar with allows quote marks of any kind for something that isn't a direct quote.

Under some quoting styles, yes, they do. But no quoting style is so prevalent that this alone decides the question.

Don't single quotes normally indicate paraphrasing?

No. Quotes, single or double, normally indicate quotation, or a few other things such as the use-mention distinction, but never paraphrasing.

I was taught that single quotes are nested inside double quotes and vice versa, the default being double, but that they're otherwise equivalent.

Maybe you're thinking of scare quotes or glosses, but they're normally restricted to single words or short phrases.

I know this is tongue-in-cheek, but I'm reminded of the twelfth virtue:

You may try to name the highest principle with names such as “the map that reflects the territory” or “experience of success and failure” or “Bayesian decision theory”. But perhaps you describe incorrectly the nameless virtue. How will you discover your mistake? Not by comparing your description to itself, but by comparing it to that which you did not name.

"applied Bayesian decision theory" seems to be a particularly bad case of not capturing what rationality is about.

thinking that them sciency sounding words carry no connotations of status, oh the folly of youth. :p

I was actually going to mention khafra's comment first, then thought it was redundant. I just wanted to voice my objection so I didn't end up in a silent majority.

Is the temporary amusement of some at the sniping of those others' status

This wasn't done. "My enemy is status signalling" is a moderately effective general purpose attack against positions one doesn't like but doesn't apply here (except in the Hansonian "Everything is Signalling" sense.)

I do not want such "ridicule of the less socially experienced and/or quick to read sequences" norms to become prevalent here.

And this isn't relevant. In fact, familiarity with the sequences would be in some ways negatively useful in the context (given that it may give the assumption that such usages of Rational in titles was the endorsed norm.)

To further explain the joke: note the contrast between the title, which crams in more words than can comfortably fit, with the body, which neatly expresses the advised course of action. An explanation that is more communicative but less literary would go as follows:

The word "rational," particularly when in the phrase "most rational," is seen as contentless and will cause downvotes and highly upvoted complaining comments. If you want advice on what toothbrush to buy, shoes to wear, or diet to eat, ask for advice and state your objectives. A 'rational' toothbrush is one that best acquires some value- and so just target that value. If you write a post asking for advice on improving your oral heath, you might get a recommendation for a flosser which could do more than getting a slightly better toothbrush.

See also the particularly rational brand of cigarettes.