TheOtherDave comments on The Orange Head Joke - Less Wrong

18 Post author: Anatoly_Vorobey 25 January 2011 08:33PM

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Comment author: TheOtherDave 28 January 2011 05:29:29AM 7 points [-]

I guess you could make inflatable paperclips if you wanted, sure.

Comment author: Clippy 28 January 2011 04:20:56PM *  3 points [-]

I meant MONETARY inflation, non-non-ape. That is, if I could just create money at will, it would quickly lose its value, end my paperclip-hoarding spree, and cause economic damage that hinders existing paperclip production capacity, possibly impeding my ability to get the new paperclips to the safe zone.

However, in my particular case, it would allow me to technically satisfy my contract with User:Kevin...

Comment author: TheOtherDave 28 January 2011 04:33:54PM 2 points [-]

Sure, that's true.

I was thinking of an unlimited fortune comprising wealth rather than money -- that is, things that are actually valuable to people, which can be exchanged for tokens, rather than the tokens themselves -- but genie wishes are admittedly problematic that way.

That said, you do seem to be jumping over a rather large middle ground in which you create the optimal amount of money for your paper-clipping (or other) needs, rather than so much money that you impede your ability to achieve your goals. Access to unlimited funds doesn't actually obligate you to create money as rapidly as possible.

Speaking of insufficiently well-specified requests, incidentally, while I do recall suggesting a while back that "ape" is considered an impolite (though accurate) descriptor for other LW users, "non-ape" is less accurate without being significantly more polite, so is hardly an improvement.

Comment author: Clippy 28 January 2011 04:35:28PM *  1 point [-]

Oh, OK, thank you for the advice, that's the kind of thing a good human would do.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 28 January 2011 04:56:36PM 1 point [-]

(nods) Thanks. I find it useful to simulate one on occasion.

Comment author: jooyous 26 February 2013 08:43:45AM *  2 points [-]

Okay, I spent the rest of this page in a beard-stroking, thoughtful mindset. "Yes, I can see how that would be humorous, indeed it is subverting the expectation ..."

And I just lolled at this.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 26 February 2013 12:04:29PM 0 points [-]

"You see what I did there, I turned it around..."