gwern comments on Open thread, July 29-August 4, 2013 - Less Wrong

3 Post author: David_Gerard 29 July 2013 10:26PM

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Comment author: David_Gerard 02 August 2013 11:51:40AM *  -1 points [-]

Gwern, this thread is about the Basilisk. Conflating that with epilepsy is knowing equivocation. Don't be dense, thanks.

Comment author: gwern 02 August 2013 02:35:27PM *  0 points [-]

No denser than thou, David:

The Motif of Harmful Sensation is a common fictional trope, but of real-life examples there are pretty much 0. (Excepting e.g. a subject with given mental susceptibilities such as depression or OCD.)

Who was it who brought up the Motif of Harmful Sensation, which is not limited to Roko's basilisk? Who was it who brought up in order to define away examples of depression or OCD? Thou, David, thou.

Comment author: David_Gerard 02 August 2013 08:15:55PM -1 points [-]

The fictional trope is of one you wouldn't expect to be harmful. That's the literary point of it, and of the Basilisk: the surprise factor.

Comment author: gwern 02 August 2013 08:53:53PM 2 points [-]

The fictional trope is of one you wouldn't expect to be harmful.

And surely the animators who made that Pokemon episode expected it to be harmful and they made those kids seize because they're simply evil.

No denser than thou, David.