Chris comments on To Lead, You Must Stand Up - Less Wrong

28 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 29 December 2007 06:38AM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (38)

Sort By: Old

You are viewing a single comment's thread.

Comment author: Chris 29 December 2007 01:37:36PM 4 points [-]

By that time everyone knew it was time to leave, they had seen the lights repeatedly dimmed, but they were comfortable in the hall, and as long as no individual could be blamed for the antisocial act of staying, they would do so. Nevertheless their discomfort level was rising. Your action precipitated the decision, like seeding a supersaturated solution precipitates crystallisation. It's another example of an unstable group equilibrium just waiting to be disturbed, like the lonely dissenter in a group where the majority have private doubts. If the lights hadn't previously been repeatedly dimmed, the group might well not have followed you.