AngryParsley comments on Belief in Belief - Less Wrong

66 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 29 July 2007 05:49PM

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Comment author: AngryParsley 08 February 2010 07:23:56AM *  5 points [-]

Stop trying to trap people. It is petty, rude, and just makes the world worse.

But it's fun! At least it's fun between friends. Remember that my friend got the last laugh in my trap example. We both know we're not going to convince each other, but it's still fun to play argument chess.

Just to balance things out, I'll give you an example of a trap my friend set for me.

Me: (Starts to explain transhumanism. Quotes EY saying, "Life is good, death is bad. Health is good, sickness is bad." etc)

Friend: "If life is good and death is bad, then isn't suicide wrong in your view?"

Me: "Umm... I guess that's a bit of an edge case."

On reflection, I do now wonder if it's better to modify someone's mind so that they are no longer suicidal than let them kill themselves. After all, death is a much bigger change than a few erased memories.