I don't understand the Parable of the Unstoppable Mad Man. The author writes like it's obvious what the mad man is, but I'm genuinely confused. And what's the deal with the prisoner? I don't get this post at all.

Did you miss it was the sequel to the post Against Moral Progress? If this is the case I should perhaps make sequences more explicit. But to clarify the post:

I will begin in shallow waters, examining why you might want to hinder primordial terrors even when they seem to be doing something good.

Who in particular the unstoppable mad man doesn't matter much for the message of the article which was aimed at meta not object level. I did some very light edits and would appreciate your input on if it makes this clearer.