WalterL comments on Rationality Quotes December 2013 - Less Wrong

7 Post author: Cyan 17 December 2013 08:43PM

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Comment author: WalterL 02 December 2013 08:48:41PM 4 points [-]

Everybody's a complex person. Everybody. Everybody's nuanced. -Jack Abramoff

Comment author: hyporational 03 December 2013 02:10:46AM 2 points [-]

A wave hitting a rock is complex, so is a vegetable on life support. What's the context?

Comment author: WalterL 03 December 2013 02:42:08PM 8 points [-]

Not sure, actually, dude was a corrupt lobbyist, so presumably he was emphasizing that he had his reasons for the stuff he got up to.

I like it as a reminder that everyone is their own story's protagonist. Its easy for me to view someone as the jerk who cut in front of the traffic, but presumably their own narrative includes a compelling reason for their seemingly antisocial behavior.

Comment author: satt 30 December 2013 07:39:22PM 2 points [-]

I think I've told this story before, but here it is again: in 1995 I got a speeding ticket. (It turns out that MLK, despite being a major thoroughfare, is zoned 25. Who knew.) At the time you could avoid getting points on your record by going to traffic school, so I did. At one point the teacher asked for our pet peeves where driving was concerned. After he'd heard ours, he said he had two. "One, pedestrians who dawdle in the crosswalk after the light's turned green. Two, drivers who try to hurry me when I'm walking across the street." Isn't that pretty much always how it works?

Adam Cadre