NancyLebovitz comments on Open thread for December 17-23, 2013 - Less Wrong

5 Post author: ciphergoth 17 December 2013 08:45PM

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Comment author: fubarobfusco 23 December 2013 03:00:26AM *  9 points [-]

Perhaps eating isn't a major pleasure of life for everyone.

I'm imagining an analogous argument about exercise. Someone formulates (or claims to, anyway) a technique combining drugs and yoga that provides, in a sweatless ten minutes per week, equivalent health benefits to an hour of normal exercise per day. Some folks are horrified by the idea — they enjoy their workout, or their bicycle commute, or swimming laps; and they can't imagine that anyone would want to give up the euphoria of extended physical exertion in exchange for a bland ten-minute session.

To me, that seems like a failure of imagination. People don't all enjoy the same "pleasures of life". Some people like physical exercise; others hate it. Some people like tasty food; others don't care about it. Some people like sex; others simply lack any desire for it; still others experience the urge but find it annoying. And so on.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 23 December 2013 08:14:38AM 3 points [-]

Strong agreement-- I've read enough from people who simply don't find food very interesting to believe that they're part of the human range.

More generally, people's sensoriums vary a lot.