Hereticon

{{internet}}{{Bronze}}'''Hereticon''' is a series of events for fringe figures and social media personalities to network and exchange brainworms. It was funded by [[Peter Thiel]]'s Founders Fund and is organized by Peter Thiel protege {{wpl|Mike Solana||.}}<ref>Megan Hernbroth, [https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-vc-firm-founders-fund-hereticon-conference-immortality-ufo-2019-10 Peter Thiel's venture fund just announced Hereticon, a conference for 'troublemakers' to discuss immortality, doomsday prepping, and UFOs], ''Business Insider'', 1 October 2019</ref> The first call for proposals promised [[Dog whistle politics|it would not be a safe space]].<ref>Founders Fund, [https://medium.com/@foundersfund/hereticon-2bb9b23928d5 Hereticon], medium.com, 1 October 2019</ref> The graphic design emphasized psychedlic, Biblical, and occult imagery. Other similar events in the USA during the COVID era include Vibecamp (hard to describe but sort of like a summer camp and sometimes associated with TPOT, an amorphous [[twitter]] community) and [[Manifest]] (prediction markets + [[LessWrong]]).

==Hereticon 1==

The original Hereticon was announced in 2019 but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Founders Fund, [https://medium.com/@foundersfund/postponing-hereticon-f404c3b49cf1 "Postponing Hereticon,"] medium.com 16 March 2020</ref> Speakers at the January 2022 event in Miami included people curious about [[UFO]]s:<ref>https://twitter.com/micsolana/status/1480565456742371331/photo/1 archived https://archive.ph/5nj7D</ref>

* Mike Seid of the Orb Summoners project who believes he can summon UFOs<ref>George Knapp, Duncan Phenix, and Matt Adams, [https://www.mysterywire.com/ufo/the-summoners/ "Meet the 'Summoners',"] ''Mystery Wire'', 13 July 2021</ref>
* {{wpl|Luis Elizondo||,}} who believes that UFOs are neither of human origin nor optical illusions and sensor failures<ref>Jason Colavito, [https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-imminent-by-luis-elizondo "Review of 'Immanent' by Luis Elizondo,"] 20 August 2024</ref>
* [[Nick Pope]], a British-American UFO enthusiast
* Deep Prasad, a young Canadian engineer and businessman<ref>https://www.genmat.xyz/team-partners/deep-prasad</ref> who had a strange experience that he understood as alien abduction<ref>George Knapp, [https://www.mysterywire.com/ufo/the-experience-deep-prasad-reveals-details-of-his-encounter/ "The experience: Deep Prasad reveals details of his encounter,"] ''Mystery Wire'', 25 February 2020</ref>
* Aaron VanDevender, "founder and CEO of Methid, a biology automation company that uses AI to improve the veracity and productivity of biomedical research and diagnostics," on aliens<ref>[https://methid.com/about "About Us,"] methid.com </ref>

[[LessWrong]], [[Effective Altruism]], and related movements:
* [[Aella]], an active LessWronger who helps organize stories of abuse at offshoots such as Leverage Research<ref>Zoe Curzi, [https://medium.com/@zoecurzi/my-experience-with-leverage-research-17e96a8e540b#c778 "My Experience with Leverage Research,"] medium.com, 12 October 2021 [https://archive.is/UrX04 archived]</ref> and the [[Zizians]]<ref>Aella, "Zizian Murdercult Summary" https://x.com/Aella_Girl/status/1884481375690223684 archived https://archive.ph/IFEoU</ref>
* {{wpl|Liv Boeree||,}} British science communicator, poker player, and [[Effective altruism|Effective Altruist]]
* Geoff Anders, formerly of the [[LessWrong]] offshoot Leverage Research which reinvented [[Scientology]] from first principles (mingling with him and Aella sounds awkward!)<ref>Zoe Curzi, "My Experience with Leverage Research," medium.com, 12 October 2021 [https://archive.is/UrX04 archived]</ref>

[[space advocacy]] and big engineering:
* {{wpl|Robert Zubrin||,}} aerospace engineer and advocate of human missions to [[Mars]]
* {{wpl|Russ George||,}} businessman and [[geoengineering]] enthusiast
* {{wpl|Isabelle Boemeke||,}} a Brazilian-American fashion model and nuclear advocate

[[eugenics]] and [[pro-natalism]]:
* {{wpl|Diana Fleischman||,}} an eugenicist 
* {{wpl|Geoffrey Miller (psychologist)|Geoffrey Miller|,}} eugenics-curious evolutionary psychologist and husband to Diana Fleischman. He identifies as a longtermist [[Effective altruism|Effective Altruist]] and has commented on [[Curtis Yarvin]]'s blog.<ref>Geoffrey Miller, comment to Curtis Yarvin, [https://graymirror.substack.com/p/uncle-yarv-6-effective-altruism "Uncle Yarv #6: effective altruism"], September 2, 2021 {{quotebox|Thanks for the mention, Lubumbashi and Curtis. I have been persuaded by [[Peter Singer]] and Toby Ord and others that Effective Altruism (EA) is a very good thing. Maybe not the ultimate best thing. That's for future generations to decide. But it's hugely better than the delusional idiocy, partisan posturing, and conspicuous charity that passes for 'doing good' nowadays. ... EA ten years ago was focused mostly on making charities more efficient, comparing their cost-effectiveness in solving problems like reducing malaria and river blindness in Africa, or figuring out whether direct cash transfers to poor people work better than 'foreign aid', or trying to keep billions of animals from suffering too much in factory farms. More recently though, the hard core EA people are really focused on long-termism, not just sentientism. They're much more concerned about [[Existential risk|existential risks]] to our species and civilization, than with improving a few charities and nudging a few policies around. We've realized you can do all the good you want for the next 10 generations, but if that doesn't lead to 100,000+ generations of sustainable, galaxy-spanning sentience, you're wasting your time}}</ref>
* Noor Siddiqui on natalism. Siddiqui founded a company called Orchid which offers to test embryos for genetic risks and select based on the test, colleagues have ethical and practical questions<ref>Melody Petersen, [https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-05-26/a-startup-says-it-helps-parents-pick-healthier-embryos-experts-say-its-not-that-simple "A startup says it helps parents pick healthier embryos. Experts say it’s not that simple,"] ''Los Angeles Times'', 26 May 2021</ref> and she does not like the word eugenics.<ref>Jason Kehe, [https://www.wired.com/story/this-woman-will-decide-which-babies-are-born-noor-siddiqui-orchid/ "This Woman Will Decide Which Babies Are Born,"] ''Wired'', 10 April 2024</ref>  She is a onetime Thiel Fellow who calls Paul Graham's [https://www.paulgraham.com/say.html "What you Can't Say"] one of her favorite essays so she must have fit right in.<ref>https://noorsiddiqui.com/about/</ref> 
* Brit Benjamin on natalism. A piece on her 2018 wedding to a software developer mentions [[Seasteading|seasteading,]] [[Ayn Rand]], Burning Man, [[transhumanism]], [[Paleo diet]]s, [[rationalism]], cryogenics (a typo for [[cryonics]]?), and life-extension which must have been a lot for a wedding columnist to process.<ref>Rosalie R. Radomsky, [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/fashion/weddings/a-commitment-for-more-than-one-lifetime.html "A Commitment for More Than One Lifetime,"] ''New York Times'', 10 February 2018 [https://archive.ph/4J2sH archive.ph/]</ref>
* Max Berry and Tammy Winter on pro-natalism

questionable medicine:
* {{wpl|Robert W. Malone||,}} a MD and biochemist who insists that he invented MRNA vaccines and the people who adapted them for [[COVID-19]] are doing it wrong
* [[Soylent]] founder John Coogan on the benefits of nicotine (especially when taken through products he sells)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EHE-hHg49k "I believe nicotine is good | John Coogan for Heretics,"] Freethink YouTube channel, 16 June 2022</ref><ref>[https://foundersfund.com/team/john-coogan/ "Entrepreneur-in-residence John Coogan,"] Founders Fund</ref>

[[intelligent design]]:
* Steve Fuller, a [[transhumanist]] sociologist and philosopher of science who offered a defense of intelligent design in [[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District]] (American despite working for the University of Warwick)<ref>https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/staff/sfuller/</ref><ref>Steve Fuller, [https://social-epistemology.com/2022/02/23/seven-heresies-steve-fuller/ "Seven Heresies,"] ''Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective: Exploring Knowledge as a Social Phenomenon'', 23 February 2022</ref>
* Rick Sternberg, an evolutionary biologist with a talk on whale biology who let an intelligent-design-friendly paper through peer review<ref>A good introduction is {{wpl|Sternberg peer review controversy}}</ref>

finance and crypto:
* {{wpl|Trevor McFedries||,}} a cryptocurrency-friendly musician
* {{wpl|Cyan Banister||,}} a genderqueer [[Libertarian]] angel investor who may be the first ''female'' Libertarian to complain that age-of-consent laws are an outrageous infringement on the liberty of fifteen-year-olds to have sex with older men<ref>https://x.com/cyantist https://archive.ph/KaDmV {{quotebox|In the 80s and 90s 15-18 year olds often had relationships with older men. We can say now that it isn’t ok, but back then, it was ok and people didn’t care as much. ... I do think it is extremely important to reserve the term pedophile for people who are minor attracted to pre-pubescent children. If you want to create a category for kids 13-18, do so, but it isn’t the same problem. It’s a very different problem.}}</ref>
* [[Peter Thiel]], the Moriarty to RationalWiki's Sherlock
* [[George Mason University|Tyler Cowen]], professor and economics blogger

[[parapsychology]]:
* {{wpl|Mitch Horowitz||,}} a writer and speaker on occult topics connected to Solana through past jobs with the publisher TarcherPerigee.<ref>Kimberly Winston, [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20090928/6267-new-age-the-politics-of-promise.html "New Age: The Poliitcs of Promise,"] ''Publishers Weekly'', 28 September 2009</ref> This year he picked parapsychology with a talk called "Case Closed: ESP is Real."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQDILJb9yK8 Case Closed: ESP Is Real | Mitch Horowitz speaking at Hereticon, 2022,] www.youtube.com/</ref>
* John Valentino, an old-school [[Parapsychology|parapsychologist]] in Princeton<ref>Psyleron: Consciousness Technologies & Research, "About Us" https://support.psyleron.com/aboutus.html archived https://archive.ph/nlyAQ</ref>
* {{wpl|Albert Nerenberg||,}} Canadian hypnotist

[[Charter city|charter cities]]:

* Mwiya Muskokotwane, Zambian investor<ref>[https://zambianobserver.com/who-is-mwiya-musokotwane/ "Who is Mwiya Musokotwane?"] ''Zambian Observer'', 19 December 2021</ref> 
* {{wpl|Patri Friedman||,}} American investor and Libertarian activist
* Devon Zuegel, American journalist and software developer<ref>[https://devonzuegel.com/page/about-me "About Me,"] https://devonzuegel.com/</ref>
* Erick Brimen, Venuzuelan-American businessman who launched the charter city of [[Libertarian paradise#Honduras|Próspera]] in Honduras<ref>https://www.erickbrimen.com/</ref><ref>Brian Doherty, [https://reason.com/2021/12/28/how-erick-brimen-helped-launch-a-honduran-charter-city/ "How Erick Brimen Helped Launch a Honduran Charter City,"] ''Reason'' January 2022</ref><ref>Ian MacDougall and Isabelle Simpson, [https://restofworld.org/2021/honduran-islanders-push-back-libertarian-startup/ "A libertarian ‘startup city’ in Honduras faces its biggest hurdle: the locals,"] ''Rest of World'', 5 October 2021</ref>

and miscellaneous topics:
* [[Bret Weinstein]], a podcaster of manysplendoured woo
* {{wpl|Cody Wilson||,}} a 3D-printed-firearms enthusiast 
* {{wpl|Robby Soave||,}} a journalist at the Libertarian website ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]''
* {{wpl|Jo Zayner}} (they/them), a trans or nonbinary biohacker<ref>Jo Zayner, ''Science, Art, Beauty'' http://www.josiahzayner.com/</ref>
* {{wpl|Kmele Foster||,}} a podcaster and telecommunications executive

As well as some harmless-sounding characters such as [[Laci Green]], a sex educator and mental health counselor who has produced vlogs and podcasts, Tim Urban of the [https://waitbutwhy.com/ ''Wait but Why''] blog, and {{wpl|Megan Phelps-Roper||,}} who broke away from the [[Westboro Baptist Church]] (yay). A trans woman who collects social media subcultures like [[Crystal woo|healing crystals]] flew in from Canada and enjoyed herself.<ref>Ivy Astrix, [https://theasterisk.substack.com/p/a-bunch-of-heretics-walk-into-miami A Bunch of Heretics Walk Into Miami], ''The Asterisk Substack'', January 14, 2022 </ref><ref>Ivy Astrix, [https://theasterisk.substack.com/p/reflecting-on-a-few-very-very-strange Reflecting On a Few Very, Very Strange Years In Silicon Valley's Rape Culture], ''The Asterisk Substack'', January 14, 2026 (mentions Lesswrong, Postrationalism, Effective Altruism, cryptocurrency, ritual magick, and marijuana culture)</ref>

Musician Grimes DJed a set (she had recently broken up with [[Elon Musk]]).<ref>[https://grimes.fandom.com/wiki/Hereticon/2022/DJ_Set Hereticon/2022/DJ Set,] ''Grimes Wiki'' https://grimes.fandom.com/</ref> [[Curtis Yarvin]] was not on the program but present.<ref>https://twitter.com/cybersygh/status/1480969161312329739 as cited by Max Read, [https://maxread.substack.com/p/make-alien-abduction-weird-again "Make Alien Abduction Weird Again,"] maxread.substack.com/</ref> It's like the American side of RationalWiki's ''Category:Living Persons'' came to life! Solana published a retrospective on ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' and rejoiced in freedom from "a bunch of crazy lunatics who two years ago had a lot more control of the internet conversation."<ref>Peter Suderman, [https://reason.com/2022/05/15/mike-solana-wants-you-to-commit-thoughtcrimes/ "Mike Solana Wants You To Commit Thoughtcrimes,"] ''Reason'', June 2022</ref> Even his interviewer gave some gentle pushback to Solana's statement that a great example of wrongful [[deplatforming]] was twitter expelling [[Donald J. Trump]] after the [[2021 U.S. coup attempt|capitol putsch]].

==They're back!==

Another Hereticon was held in Miami from 28 to 31 October 2024.<ref>Mike Solana, [https://foundersfund.com/2024/02/hereticon-2024/ "Hereticon: Apocalypse Ball,"] ''Founders Fund'', February 2024</ref> The call for proposals hinted at [[Nick Land]]'s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_accelerationism effective accelerationism] without using that phrase (the belief that if we set the engineers and businesses free without pesky regulations or tedious consultations, utopia will result). It also focused on themes and people beloved by [[Libertarians]] and the social media right such as [[geoengineering]], [[Libertarian paradise#Seasteading: Mutiny on the Bounty|seasteading]] (on icebergs!), life extension, [[evolutionary psychology]], [[Alt-right_glossary#Tradwife.2FTradthot|trad wives]], the supposed immanent [[Eurabia|Islamization of Europe]] ("The only measures that can prevent this Islamic takeover of Europe, according to the speaker, is deportation"),<ref>Elizabeth Weiss, [https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2024/11/13/i-attended-hereticon/ "I Attended Hereticon,"] ''Minding the Campus: Reforming our Universities'', 13 November 2024 archived https://archive.ph/rUvtz</ref> bodybuilding influencer Raw Egg Nationalist, Italian mathematician and model {{wpl|Pietro Boselli}}, [[Libertarian_paradise#Bad_Praxis_in_Greenland|US annexation of Greenland]] (Hereticon was in to it before it was cool!), [[climate change]] as good, corporal punishment as good, [[MKULTRA]], sex magic,<ref>Mitch Horowitz, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXK3yGRNY6s "Magick for Nonbelievers: Mitch Horowitz Speaking at Hereticon, Oct 30, 2024,"] https://www.youtube.com/@mitchhorowitz6054</ref> and the epistemology of psychiatric diagnosis.<ref>Pirate Wires, [https://www.piratewires.com/p/hereticon-ii-apocalypse-ball-day-one-recap "What Went Down at Hereticon II: Apocalypse Ball (Day One),"] ''Pirate Wires'', 30 October 2024</ref><ref>Pirate Wires, [https://www.piratewires.com/p/hereticon-ii-apocalypse-ball-day-two-recap?f=home|"What Went Down at Hereticon II: Apocalypse Ball (Day Two),"]] ''Pirate Wires'', 1 November 2024 </ref> Curtis Yarvin and the founder of a right-wing web magazine were speakers.<ref>Elizabeth Weiss, [https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2024/11/13/i-attended-hereticon/ "I Attended Hereticon,"] ''Minding the Campus: Reforming our Universities'', 13 November 2024 archived https://archive.ph/rUvtz</ref> Grimes DJed another set.<ref>Elizabeth Weiss, [https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2024/11/13/i-attended-hereticon/ "I Attended Hereticon,"] ''Minding the Campus: Reforming our Universities'', 13 November 2024</ref><ref>[https://grimes.fandom.com/wiki/Hereticon/2024/DJ_Set "Hereticon/2024/DJ Set,"] ''Grimes Wiki'' https://grimes.fandom.com/</ref> Aggrieved anthropologist [[Elizabeth Weiss]] reported on her experiences at the event.

Connoisseurs of whitecollar people rationalizing ideas you can hear in any dive bar will recall that [[Scott Alexander]] listed "the superiority of corporal punishment to our current punishment system" among "importantly correct neoreactionary stuff" in a private email and pointed to [[Robin Hanson]] as a fellow believer.<ref>The email is transcribed at David Thorstad, [https://reflectivealtruism.com/2024/10/31/human-biodiversity-part-4-astral-codex-ten/ Human biodiversity (Part 4: Astral Codex Ten)], ''Reflective Altruism'', 31 October 2024. Alexander neither confirms nor denies having sent this email but went on to [https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/how-to-stop-worrying-and-learn-to publicly endorse] the scientific racism of [[Richard Lynn]] so shares one belief with neoreactionaries.</ref>

==Response==

Blogger Max Read was not amused:

{{quotebox|Please leave the real crank stuff to the pros. The Hereticon crowd is more than welcome to natalism and [[polyamory]], but if you have any affection at all for the aesthetics or substance of crank science and conspiracy theory, it's a bummer to see it taken up by such a preening, self-conscious, eager crew. Ancient astronauts and ESP (I assume that's what the "High-Bandwidth Non-Verbal Communication" talk on Wednesday was about) used to be the domain of authentic weirdos and obsessives; now it's what venture capitalists and right-wing Substack columnists use as a badge to demonstrate their broad-mindedness.<ref>Max Read, [https://maxread.substack.com/p/make-alien-abduction-weird-again "Make Alien Abduction Weird Again,"] https://maxread.substack.com/</ref>}}

It is especially worrisome that this event brings together eugenics, [[racialism]], and bioengineering. In Silicon Valley, the combination goes back to {{wpl|William Shockley||,}} the co-inventor of the transistor. 'Move fast and break things' gets ugly when what you break is babies.

Speakers and topics have been very very American with the occasional Brit or Canadian. [[Cryptozoology]] and [[Ghost hunting TV shows|ghost hunting]] have not had much of a presence, maybe because they appeal to American men without college educations and Solana wants an audience with more power.<ref>Sharon A. Hill, ''Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers'' (2017)</ref> Strange places and mysterious disappearances are also off the program. Not every speaker has a twitter profile and a [[Substack]] blog, but most do.

==Sex sells==
Hanging out with eugenicists and Libertarians can be a drag after the first few minutes of "taxes suck, right! the wrong people are having so many babies, yep." Solana tried to liven up the events with live music, dance parties, tattooing, drag shows, and promises that the connecting did not end with exchanging email addresses and Twitter handles: 

{{quotebox|There were lectures, there were performances, there was, randomly and happily, a marriage. Two babies were conceived at the event, two more because of it (that we know of), and new ideas were shared in quantities at least as great as drinks consumed. Obviously, we’re doing it again.<ref>Mike Solana, [https://foundersfund.com/2024/02/hereticon-2024/ "The Apocalypse will take place from the evening of October 28th to the morning of October 31st,"] Founders Fund</ref>}}

It is not clear if mating with Hereticon speakers is eugenic or dysgenic, but fortunately their biohackers don't decide who gets to reproduce yet.

==See also ==

* [[Vitalia]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Crank magnetism]]
[[Category:Eugenics supporters]]
[[Category:Florida]]
[[Category:Intellectual Dark Web]]
[[Category:LessWrong]]
[[Category:Parapsychology]]
[[Category:Thielsphere]]
[[Category:Ufology]]

Categories: Crank magnetism, Eugenics supporters, Florida, Intellectual Dark Web, LessWrong, Parapsychology, Thielsphere, Ufology