ygert comments on Doubt, Science, and Magical Creatures - a Child's Perspective - Less Wrong

33 Post author: Benquo 28 December 2013 03:26PM

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Comment author: polymathwannabe 29 December 2013 08:17:32PM 2 points [-]

That leads me to think of some ethically questionable testing scenarios.

Comment author: ygert 29 December 2013 09:19:34PM 2 points [-]

Yes...

But seriously, there are simpler tests to do, or to do first. Try telling your parents not out loud, but in a written note. That would rule out audio bugging. Try telling an empty room, when no one else is around. That could rule out your parents. Try telling someone you know won't understand you. (Like a younger sibling.) Try miming it to your parents without using words. Try falsely telling your parents that a tooth fell out, when none did. Try telling your parents about your tooth that fell out, but not putting it under your pillow that night. Try giving your fallen-out tooth to a younger sibling and tricking him into pretending that that tooth was his to your parents. (Although that would probably mean giving up the income from that tooth.)

All in all, there are a lot of possible open tests that could be done, to narrow down the search space dramatically.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 30 December 2013 01:24:44AM 7 points [-]

You have a limited number of teeth to experiment with.

Comment author: Lethalmud 07 January 2014 01:31:49PM 3 points [-]

That's where your little brother comes in.