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Eugine_Nier comments on Rationality Quotes February 2013 - Less Wrong
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This. If only people realized that unpleasant facts do not cancel each other out, and pointing out one unpleasant fact in addition to another should never ever make us feel better, because it only leaves us in a worse world than we started out in. Compute the actual utilities. It's such a common and avoidable error.
I think both your comment and the quote are forgetting the instrumental purpose of crying and/or feeling bad.
I can't say I see your point. Mind explaining?
My guess: The purpose of crying is to make people around you more likely to help you.
So if you don't have shoes, there is a chance that crying in public will make someone give you money to buy the shoes. But if there is a person without feet nearby, your chances become smaller, because people will redirect their limited altruist budgets to that other person. Your crying becomes less profitable.
... Alright, but... that's a separate point to make altogether. It's not a quote about making yourself as likely as possible to get others to help you, and, I would say, it doesn't have to be; it's a quote about how other people's negative experiences influence the way you feel about yours.
Unfortunately, I've met a lot of people who forget the instrumental purposes of crying and/or feeling bad. =[