wedrifid comments on Values vs. parameters - Less Wrong

9 Post author: PhilGoetz 17 May 2011 05:53AM

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Comment author: PhilGoetz 17 May 2011 06:25:37PM 0 points [-]

"I trust strangers in the way a hunter-gatherer trusts his cousins" is not just a platitude for making people think you're moral, but also a good strategy for conquering the world.

Nitpick: Feeling that way would prevent you from conquering the world.

Comment author: wedrifid 18 May 2011 12:58:31AM 0 points [-]

Nitpick: Feeling that way would prevent you from conquering the world.

I'm inclined to agree. Unless the hunter-gatherer in question somehow had an overwhelmingly nuanced and Machiavellian instinct for trust and, presumably, extremely promiscuous relatives in a culture with significant inter-tribal mating.