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Alejandro1 comments on Rationality Quotes February 2014 - Less Wrong
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--Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.
Charlatans also tend to do this.
Often, a charlatan would dedicate her life to selling boats. When questioned if she really believes in the floods, obviously she does! Why else would she be wasting her life as a boatwright?
Given that the most well known story of a prophet predicting a flood involved him building a boat, that doesn't sound like anything particularly insightful.
What's the context?
I think it means that Prophets aren't worth taking seriously unless they are staking their own reputation, well-being, or money on what they predict. There are many people who claim to know a particular thing for certain but who curiously aren't putting all of their own money on it. A perfect example probably being people selling stocks and investment plans.