Strange7 comments on Conspiracy Theories as Agency Fictions - Less Wrong

30 [deleted] 09 June 2012 03:15PM

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Comment author: Strange7 11 June 2012 05:37:37AM 1 point [-]

And yet, someone who applied honey (or distilled alcohol!) to a festering wound thinking that it would disorient the encamped pathogens and thereby give the body's defenders an opportunity to rally, without understanding the actual mechanism, could still be successful.

Comment author: tgb 16 June 2012 12:44:39PM 8 points [-]

Sorry, but why are these being upvoted? It's a cute analogy - but this is far from a "model" as was claimed. Try making some predictions from these explanations and see how horribly awry they go: why just honey? I should be shoving waffles into my wounds whenever I get a scratch, since everyone knows waffles are incredibly tasty. This analogy might work to convince an uncooperative child to take his antibiotics or get a shot, but it's not going to cut it as a useful model. The only reason this is working is that you already know the answers!