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faul_sname comments on Open thread, Nov. 17 - Nov. 23, 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion

4 Post author: MrMind 17 November 2014 08:25AM

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Comment author: faul_sname 25 November 2014 08:37:14PM *  1 point [-]

I think there may be a communication failure here. While most desirable changes are themselves changes to the status quo, the phrase "changing the status quo" generally has the connotation of moving away from an undesirable state, instead of moving toward a desirable state.

For a concrete example, if I wanted to eradicate malaria, I would say "I want to eradicate malaria," not "I want to impact the status quo" or "I want to make a difference," even though both types of statements are true. The goal is to make a specific difference, not to make a difference.

Comment author: Lumifer 25 November 2014 08:42:07PM 0 points [-]

the phrase "changing the status quo" generally has the connotation of moving away from an undesirable state, instead of moving toward a desirable state.

Yes, looks like a communication problem. The phrase "changing the status quo" has no such connotation for me, at all. I would be happy to call eradicating malaria changing the status quo.