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sixes_and_sevens comments on Open Thread, April 15-30, 2013 - Less Wrong
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Does anyone have any real-world, object-level examples of degenerate cases?
I think degeneracy has some mileage in terms of explaining certain types of category error, (eg. "atheism is a religion"), but a lot of people just switch off when they start hearing a mathematical example. So far, the only example I've come up with is a platform pass at a train station, which is a degenerate case of a train ticket. It gets you on the platform and lets you travel a certain number of stops (zero) down the train line.
Anyone want to propose any others?
Not going anywhere is degenerate travel (but can be an especially restful vacation).
Grabbing someone by the arm and dragging them across the room as a degenerate case of kidnapping?
Trading a gun for drugs as a degenerate case of "Using a firearm in a drug transaction"? On a related note, receiving the gun is not using a firearm in a drug transaction.
I'm sure there are more examples in the bowels of criminal law (and law generally).
Complete anarchy as the degenerate case of a government system?
Sleeping on the floor as the degenerate case when discussing different kinds of beds and mattresses?
Asexuality as the degenerate case of hetero/homo/bi sexuality?
Serious-ish answers: The degenerate case of dieting is when you increase your calorie intake by zero. (Also applies to government budgets, although it's then usually referred to as a "cut".)
The degenerate case of tax reform is to pass no new laws.
The degenerate case of keeping kosher (also halal, fasting, giving things up for Lent) is to eat anything you like.
The degenerate case of a slippery-slope argument is to say "If we do X, X will follow, and then we'll be sure to have X, from which we'll certainly get X". (That is, this argument is the limit as epsilon goes to zero of the argument X -> X+epsilon -> X+2 epsilon...).
Mainly in jest: Dictatorship considered as a degenerate case of democracy: One Man, One Vote - he is The Man, he has The Vote.
Conversely, democracy considered, Moldbug-style, as the degenerate case of dictatorship: Each of N citizens has 1/N of the powers of the dictator.