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Signs you're on LW too much

9 Post author: Eneasz 09 October 2012 06:02PM

In the style of Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be A Redneck If..."

If you're waking up and the characters in your dream start asking you to stay asleep a bit longer because they're running on your brain and they don't want to be consigned to oblivion just yet... you might be on LW too much.

 

Happened to me this morning, it was kinda weird, and I felt kinda sad. In fairness, it might just be my subconscious brain telling me I need to get more damn sleep.

Anyone have similar stories?

Comments (31)

Comment author: Rain 09 October 2012 07:32:02PM *  18 points [-]

Before LW, I once had a dream where I entered a world of people as a prophet to teach them there was a reality above theirs, that their realm was a false one, that only I knew the truth. The dream was incredibly long and involved; I have it all written down, and it's fascinating to see how self-consistent it is. As I climbed out of their world, once again espousing to them they should find a way into the real world, I woke up.

Likely, your dream could have happened without LW, and this site just provides some extra context to make it more memorable.

Comment author: MileyCyrus 10 October 2012 03:14:43PM *  13 points [-]
  • You consider Pascal’s wager a compelling argument for atheism. Sure, being a Christian might give you a shot at eternal life, but that’s nothing compared to chance of flimple utlitions.

  • You want a career that gives back to the world. So you quit your job as inner-city schoolteacher to become an investment banker..

  • After landing a six-figure salary at Goldman Sachs, you become frustrated with your paltry wages. So you fly to Australia to get a job busing tables.

Comment author: philh 10 October 2012 05:08:36PM 3 points [-]

Second, if you hear about two or more Flimples, the first one you hear about is lexicographically greater than any others.

We could make a really nice Pascal's wager Ponzi scheme from this. Paypal Eliezer $5, then replace his name with your own and post it on as many forums as you can find...

Comment author: TheOtherDave 10 October 2012 04:46:17PM 2 points [-]

...so you quit your job as inner-city schoolteacher to become an investment banker.

This is my favorite of these so far by a comfortable margin.

Comment author: MileyCyrus 10 October 2012 03:17:56PM *  0 points [-]

I had five more of these, but they keep the site keeps garbling them and I need to get to bed.

Comment author: CronoDAS 09 October 2012 10:03:47PM 12 points [-]
Comment author: RomeoStevens 12 October 2012 05:12:11AM 3 points [-]

XKCD is quickly turning into the "simpsons did it" of nerd jokes.

Comment author: Kawoomba 09 October 2012 06:17:19PM 12 points [-]

Signs you're on LW too much

First comment on such a topic, does that count?

Comment author: shminux 10 October 2012 03:39:08AM 11 points [-]

I reach for the (non-existent) downvote button when there is a particularly bad paper on the arxiv.org preprint server.

Comment author: [deleted] 10 October 2012 07:16:00PM *  3 points [-]

I've long maintained that Facebook ought to have a “dislike” button (since long before I found LessWrong, and shortly after the “like” button was added), but now I sometimes look for it. (Also, I think I've accidentally used Markdown on Wikipedia.)

Comment author: shminux 10 October 2012 07:20:00PM 3 points [-]

It wouldn't work on Facebook. The level of maturity is not there, people would just use it for bullying and revenge.

Comment author: [deleted] 10 October 2012 07:29:19PM 1 point [-]

Yeah, right, because the “like” button is never used for cheering and arse-licking.

Comment author: shminux 10 October 2012 08:01:20PM *  2 points [-]

Of course it is. But this is much less damaging than bullying. Just think through it for a moment. What would happen if one could anonymously downvote pictures/posts of their "friends"? Clearly the meanness would spread unchecked until almost everything is downvoted out of spite.

The FB environment is completely unlike (no pun intended) LW or even Reddit. There there is not even a pretense of learning or any kind of rational discourse. As a result of potential dislikes, the amount of stuff people post on FB would go down drastically, and so would the average number of friends per person. One might think that it is a good thing, but it would certainly negatively impact the profits and publicity of the Facebook itself.

Comment author: [deleted] 10 October 2012 08:14:43PM *  -1 points [-]

What would happen if one could anonymously downvote pictures/posts of their "friends"?

Facebook likes are not anonymous, and dislikes wouldn't be either. It's not unlike posting a comment saying “Boo”, minus the trivial inconvenience of having to type.

The FB environment is completely unlike (no pun intended) LW or even Reddit.

So what? The purpose of likes is different from the purpose of upvotes, too, and dislikes would just be the mirror image. (The idea of dislikes first occurred to me before I had ever heard of LW or Reddit.)

As a result of potential dislikes, the amount of stuff people post on FB would go down drastically,

Why? Youtube also has dislikes, and it's not like people stopped uploading new videos or commenting when they were implemented.

and so would the average number of friends per person.

Why?

Comment author: shminux 10 October 2012 09:58:52PM 5 points [-]

dislikes would just be the mirror image

It really wouldn't. Negative feedback is much more potent than equal positive feedback. Anyway, the reasons why FB has stayed and will stay away from dislikes (and google+ from -1) have been rehashed online to no end (basically, hate doesn't sell ads or products). Tapping out.

Comment author: sixes_and_sevens 10 October 2012 10:24:26AM 3 points [-]

I don't consider myself particularly trigger-happy with downvotes, but it's become surprisingly distressing to see something I disapprove of and be completely powerless to passively express that disapproval.

Comment author: Cthulhoo 10 October 2012 08:16:24AM 19 points [-]

"You might have been on LW for too much if..."

  • you read the world "cult" and feel the urge to substitute it with "phyg"
  • you hear a misuse of the word "rationality" and it's like cat nails scratching on a blackboard
  • 99.9% of the time the word "rationality" is misused
  • you often try to explain to your friends that Einstein wasn't that smart
  • your answer to the question "are you certain?" is a 30 minutes dissertation on probability
  • your answers to a "true or false" test are 30 pages long dissertations on map and territory
  • you try to pay the rent with your beliefs (the landlord might not be happy)
Comment author: maia 09 October 2012 06:44:14PM 6 points [-]

Something similar happened to me a few nights ago. Except the dream character was like, "Something really terrible is about to happen to me, and since my continuity of experience is assured by real-life Maia continuing to exist, I'm okay with the personality part of me dying. (Proceeds to commit suicide by trying to wake up)"

Comment author: aspera 12 October 2012 03:20:46AM 3 points [-]

You can't remember whether or not bleggs exist in real life.

Comment author: Mitchell_Porter 09 October 2012 09:52:39PM *  9 points [-]

Signs you're on LW too much: You read this post. Bonus points if you respond. Extra bonus points if you wrote it. N tbyq fgne vs lbh qrpbqrq guvf cneg. But the best way to be sure about it is to raise the issue at your next meetup.

Comment author: pleeppleep 10 October 2012 12:41:08AM *  1 point [-]

Cheater. You can't give extra points to yourself.

Comment author: radical_negative_one 10 October 2012 01:35:09AM 1 point [-]

I thought he was giving extra points to Eneasz.

Comment author: pleeppleep 10 October 2012 02:17:39AM 0 points [-]

Thought he meant the comment. My bad.

Comment author: roryokane 13 October 2012 01:52:45AM *  0 points [-]

Link to translation: “N tbyq fgne vs lbh qrpbqrq guvf cneg.” through ROT13

Yes, I know it kind of ruins the point.

Comment author: James_Miller 09 October 2012 06:30:43PM 9 points [-]

Alarm Clock = Murder.

Comment author: [deleted] 09 October 2012 07:52:31PM 1 point [-]

Oh look! it's the original poster of the shit rationalists say thread.

Comment author: Eneasz 09 October 2012 08:47:42PM 2 points [-]

yes?

Comment author: [deleted] 10 October 2012 10:00:14AM *  2 points [-]

Part of it is to say: here's a relevant link. The other part is: I spend so much time on LW I remember people's posts by their username.

No malice intended.

Comment author: fortyeridania 10 October 2012 08:52:48AM 0 points [-]

Downvoted for sarcasm.

But ADBOC.

Comment author: Epiphany 10 October 2012 08:16:38AM *  1 point [-]

Sry, no time to comment. On LW.

Comment author: FiftyTwo 11 October 2012 09:55:55AM 0 points [-]

You get annoyed at things lacking citations and links.

You say "I may be inferring from one example but..." or similar.

You know intimate details of the personal lives of the Bay Area crowd, despite living on a different continent.