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fubarobfusco comments on Rationality Quotes August 2014 - Less Wrong
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— Matt Cutts
I don't really want to pay the electric bill, or the rent.
Oh dear, now I'm sitting in the dark and the landlord is evicting me onto the street.
I'm pretty sure you've construed the quote entirely backwards — and that Matt's point is that any "I should do X" statement can be rephrased as "part of me wants to do X."
I really don't like that guy and want him dead, and hey we're in the middle of nowhere and nobody knows he's here.
If you are a psychopath than simply doing what you want to do is bad. Normal civilized humans don't really want to kill other humans.
That REALLY depends on the circumstances.
Isn't that covered by the first two words (especially the second) of the sentence you quoted?
No. Normal civilized humans find themselves in different circumstances. In some of these circumstances they DO want to kill other humans.
Well, certainly not nearby humans who have similar skin coloration and evince membership in the same tribe. Those people, on the other hand, are disgusting, and the lot of them simply have to go.
Maybe you should kill him then? I mean, do you actually want to?
Given that you can predict the results of your choices is there really no part in you that wants to choose the road that includes paying the electric bill?
It about where you put your attention. If you focus on the fact that you want to have electricity in your house and therefore pay the electric bill you feel agent and good. If you focus on the fact that you have an obligation to pay a bill you will feel bad.
Textbook case of YMMV due to inferential distance/loss of resolution in verbal/textual communication.