It’s probably largely for historical reasons: the first real piece of “rational fiction” was Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky, and many other authors followed in that general vein.
Also, it can be fun to take an existing work with a world that wasn’t very thoroughly examined and “rationalize” it by explaining plot holes and letting characters exploit the rules.
It’s far easier to see the irrationalities and possible exploits of other people’s work than your own, rationalizing a world possibly takes different skills than creating an interesting one, its easier to write & build an audience, and you don’t have to spend so much time explaining the setting/magic system/other important info.
Do you know why fan fiction appears to be the go-to medium for rationalists? This seems odd.
It’s probably largely for historical reasons: the first real piece of “rational fiction” was Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky, and many other authors followed in that general vein.
Also, it can be fun to take an existing work with a world that wasn’t very thoroughly examined and “rationalize” it by explaining plot holes and letting characters exploit the rules.
It’s far easier to see the irrationalities and possible exploits of other people’s work than your own, rationalizing a world possibly takes different skills than creating an interesting one, its easier to write & build an audience, and you don’t have to spend so much time explaining the setting/magic system/other important info.