GabrielDuquette comments on Rationality and Relationships September 2011 - Less Wrong

1 [deleted] 01 September 2011 03:05PM

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Comment author: Vladimir_M 01 September 2011 05:56:11PM *  6 points [-]

I wouldn't want to point fingers at people this way even if we were talking about unambiguous and agreed-upon instances of errors, let alone in cases like this, where it would open whole cans of worms. It would look like I'm being confrontational against individuals, rather than pointing out a general problem.

On the other hand, I think it's reasonable to ask my above question in this context. Given the previous history of discussions about this topic, what is the reason to consider the first explanation as more probable than the second? (And what would be the cause of the change assumed by the first one?)

Comment author: [deleted] 01 September 2011 06:22:19PM 0 points [-]

Clashes about a non-quantitative issue are likely to feature both productive and unproductive elements. Is the occasional happy death spiral a flat-out bad thing? A tub of bathwater so dirty it's worth throwing out the baby?

Comment author: wedrifid 01 September 2011 07:15:07PM *  8 points [-]

A tub of bathwater so dirty it's worth throwing out the baby?

Perhaps, if the baby is handed off to caring adopted parents and is freed from abusive, incompetent parents with dangerously substandard hygene practices.

(That's how the metaphor would represent the case in which individuals were saved from learning false lessons about human relationships here and were redirected elsewhere to learn lessons that were more useful. Not necessarily a position I am taking myself today, just describing.)

Let's wait and see.