Lumifer comments on On Caring - Less Wrong

99 Post author: So8res 15 October 2014 01:59AM

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Comment author: Lumifer 16 October 2014 05:55:15PM *  2 points [-]

he expects his brain to misreport how much he actually cares

Um, that's nonsense. His brain does not misreport how much he actually cares -- it's just that his brain thinks that it should care more. It's a conflict between "is" and "should", not a matter of misreporting "is".

he shuts up and multiplies the joy of finding $20 by a million....

After which he goes and robs a bank.

Comment author: Jiro 16 October 2014 06:39:16PM 1 point [-]

Um, that's nonsense.

You do realize that what I said is a restatement of one of the examples in the original article, except substituting "caring about money" for "caring about birds"? And snarles' post was a somewhat more indirect version of that as well? Being nonsense is the whole point.

Comment author: Lumifer 16 October 2014 06:45:49PM 1 point [-]

You do realize that what I said is a restatement of one of the examples in the original article

Yes, I do, and I think it's nonsense there as well. The care-o-meter is not broken, it's just that your brain would prefer you to care more about all these numbers. It's like preferring not have a fever and saying the thermometer is broken because it shows too high a temperature.